Kryptonite, Thy Name is Wolf
by BeautyXBlessedGuard
Summary: Madison Blanche moves to La Push with her parents. She is thrust into a whole new school and a whole new life. But once she meets Paul Foster, her simple world gets a lot more complex, with werewolves and legends can she handle this new world? PaulxOC
1. Kryptonite

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Summary:**_** Madison Blanche moves to La Push with her parents. She is thrust into a whole new school and a whole new life. But one when she meets Paul, her simple world gets a lot more complex. PaulxOC**

**PS: All Chapters are Titles of Songs, which again I do not own. (Just putting that just in case)**

"_The wolf changes his coat but not his disposition"_

_-Proverb_

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**Chapter 1: _Kryptonite_**

Moving.

I was moving to La Push in Washington. Why you may ask? Well my grandfather died a couple months ago and he left everything to my father. With this my parents decided that they should move out there. Their reasons were that it would be a nice change and its where my father grew up as well as my mother. Once they got married my dad got a job in Chicago and they both moved there. After about 5 years of marriage they adopted little baby me.

It was funny I had no physical similarities with them what so ever. They both had dark-skin tones with light brown hair while I was ghostly pale and had long dark red hair. They both had blue eyes and hung around the 6' foot height range, while I had bright green eyes and was a miniscule 5'4.

It was drizzling as my dad pulled the sedan into the driveway with my mom pulling in behind him. I got out right away, one more minute in a car and I was going to scream. My mother always joked with me that I could not sit still for more than two minutes.

I surveyed the property. The house was a large brick two story surrounded by evergreens. My mom came and stood by my side. She looked over the house as well and she put a comforting arm around me.

"You are going to love it," she whispered. I smiled reluctantly at her and turned to help unload the cars. I grabbed two of my bags and trudged into the house. I did not bother to take a tour of the house; I had seen enough pictures to get the idea. I headed straight up the stairs right to my new room.

It was located at the back of the house and overlooked the encroaching forest. I thought I saw a flash of grey in the trees but I did not think about it for long. I turned from my window and studied the room. It was a decent size with beige walls. My dad had come out early to prepare the house, so my furniture was all set up: the bed against the way with my dresser on the wall with the door to the hall and closet. The one good was I got my own bathroom.

"Madison come down and meet our neighbors!" my dad called from the bottom of the stairs. I rolled my eyes and hurried back outside. An older brittle looking man with white hair stood at the end of the driveway chatting with my mom. Standing next to him were two large muscular boys. They looked like they were in their early twenties. They both had similar copper toned skin with short black hair and were obnoxiously tall.

'Great I'm still probably the shortest person in the group'

"Oh honey come and meet Mr. Ateara" my mother said as she ushered towards our guest. I smiled as pleasantly as I could despite my mood.

"Hello, I'm Madison," I greeted as I shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, this is my grandson Quil," he indicted towards the shorter boy, "and his friend Embry Call."

"Hello" I said.

"Hey" Quil said brightly. His friend Embry nodded in response.

"So how old are you two?" I asked.

"We're both 17" Embry answered. I stared at them in disbelief.

"What?" Quil asked, obviously confused. Embry nudged him with an amused look.

"Dude we don't look 17,"

"Right. So how old are you?"

"I'm also 17, I'm a senior," I replied.

"Cool maybe we'll have some classes together," Quil smiled.

"Maybe."

Finally his grandfather indicated that they had to go.

"See ya at school," they shouted as they walked off. I waved and turned to my dad.

"So?"

"So what?" I asked. My dad just chuckled and turned back to the boxes.

Later that night I lay in my bed tossing and turning. I started glaring at the ceiling listening to the sound of an owl outside my window. Suddenly I heard the howling of a wolf off in the distance. I sighed and threw the covers over my head.

**Review and tell me what you think! ( :**


	2. Stop and Stare

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"_People always make the __wolf__ more formidable than he is.__"_

_-French Proverb_

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**Chapter 2: **_**Stop and Stare**_

I hit the alarm clock as soon as it began to beep. A grayish light filled the room as I moaned and tossed the covers off. I looked out the window and sighed, more clouds. I changed into a simple outfit of jeans, a shirt, and jacket. After I had finished getting ready I headed downstairs where my mother and father were reading the newspaper and drinking their coffee. I grabbed some toast off the table and smiled at my mom.

"Yes?" she asked already familiar with my "I want something" grin.

"Well, I would feel a lot more excitement if I could drive myself to school." My mother smirked and tossed a glance at my father.

"Hey she's your daughter in the mornings," my father joked. My mother just rolled her eyes at him.

"The keys on the counter,"

"Thanks!"

"Have a good day!" she shouted after me as I grabbed the keys off the counter and headed to the car. I started the car and rolled down my window. My parents always complained about that fact but I liked to feel the window rushing by as I drove. It probably was a really stupid thing also including the fact that I always seemed to be cold. I swear it could be 90 degrees out and I would be complaining I was chilly. I turned the stereo on and flipped to my favorite song and began to sing along as I drove to school.

About 10 minutes later I pulled into the school parking lot and scouted for a good spot to park. Once I found on I moved the car to pull in. All of a sudden a large silver truck pulled straight in.

I slammed on the breaks and honked the horn. The driver simply got out and looked at my car. He had russet colored skin with a lot of muscles. He had to be a well over 6' feet. His short hair was black ad he had a scowl on his face as he looked at my SUV. He simply turned and walked away.

"Jerk" I muttered as I pulled into another spot. I grabbed my bag and schedule and headed towards the building. As I walked I glanced around at the student body. Many were either milling around or hanging out in little clusters. I noticed Quil and Embry making their way over to a group of guys. They all looked so similar; dark skin, dark hair, and lots of muscles. The guy who had cut me off joined them shortly.

I turned away and walked towards the school. After about three wrong turns I finally found the main office. I approached the secretary's desk and introduced myself. She smiled and handed me a map of the school and my locker number. I studied the map for a minute and deciphered that my locker was on the second floor.

I removed some books for my bag; I swear if I kept carry them all together I was going to injure shoulder. I looked around and found the stairs. I made my way through the many people and began the long struggle up the steps. Of course I just happened to pick that time as a good time to step on my shoelace. My books went flying as I rocked forward and then went tumbling backwards. I braced myself for the sudden impact of pain but instead I felt myself stop short as a pair of warm arms broke the fall.

"Thanks Superman," I laughed breathlessly. Before I could turn I was pushed back onto my feet. I turned to find myself facing the guy from earlier. He grabbed my books off the floor.

"You're welcome," He answered. As he looked up our eyes meet. My stomach did a little flip as I looked into his chocolate colored eyes. His face twisted into a shocked expression like someone had splashed cold water in his face. His eyes flashed with confusion, surprise, adoration, and wonderment.

I smiled nervously and took my books back. He continued to stare at me; it really began to unnerve me.

"Well thanks…again," I stuttered.

"Hey Paul!" the guy turned in the direction of the shout and with that I turned and trudged back up the stairs. It surprised me how fast I was able to walk with all my books. I found my locker and hurriedly but my books inside. As I was organizing the inside heard someone approached.

"Hey," it was that guy again. I arched my eyebrow and gave him a look. "Sorry about back there," he continued.

"Uh-huh," I answered as I continued to look at him. I could not will myself to turn away.

"I'm Paul by the way,"

"I'm Madison Blanche, call me Maddie," I said and stuck my hand out. He grasped my hand lightly but I still felt the extreme heat from his skin.

"Wow!" he let go instantly a look of sadness filled his eyes.

"Nothing… I you just… well you have very warm hands," I winced after I finished realizing how stupid that sounded. Suddenly the sadness vanished and was replaced by uncertainty.

"Yeah… well…"

"Hey Paul why don't you let Maddie settle in before you start bugging her," Quil said as he joined us. Paul looked at him angrily.

"Hi Quil,"

"Hey Maddie, I hope Paul here isn't giving you too much trouble," Paul grit his teeth as Quil said this.

"Ha…no Superman here actually saved me from one massive back ache," I laughed.

"Oh really, who did you do that…Superman?" Quil mocked. Paul glared at him and opened his mouth to answer.

_Brrrrriiiinnnngggg_

"I'll see you guys later," I said and walked down the hallway. I tossed a quick glance over my shoulder back towards them. Paul turned and punched Quil in the arm, who mouthed the word 'what'.

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**I hope that was good so far. Please review and tell me what you thought and feel free to make any suggestions.**


	3. Funny Little Feeling

**Author Note: Thanks for all your reviews keep them coming. By the way I discovered another fanfiction with Paul in it and his last name is also Walker so I once again changed Paul's last name which is now Paul Foster. Thank you very much!**

"_A girl is a person who screams at the mouse and smiles at the __wolf__"_

–_Shyam Kapoor_

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**Chapter 3: _Funny Little Feeling_**

I got to my first class pretty quickly. The room was still partially empty, which I preferred over having to enduring a crowd of students staring at me though the students present were doing a fine job on their own. The teacher introduced himself as Mr. Taylor and then directed me to a seat in the back of the classroom. I smiled inwardly, pleased that the task of observing the new kid would be just a little more difficult.

The class filled up quickly and the bell rang again. Mr. Taylor introduced me to the class and gave them the whole "make her feel welcome" spiel. Finally he began the lesson and the brunette next to me turned to me.

"I'm Ali DePaul" she whispered.

"Nice to meet you," I answered.

"So how long have you been in town?"

'We got here yesterday morning."

"Oh wow, did you get a chance to check out the town at all? Or the beach?"

I shook my head.

"Well don't worry I can definitely handle that" she laughed and grinned widely. I returned the smile and then glanced around the room to observe everyone else.

"So do you know anyone here or are you flying solo?" Ali redirected my attention to her.

"I meet two guys yesterday, Quil Ateara and Embry Call. Then today I meet that Paul guy,"

"Paul Foster?"

"Yeah,"

"Those guys are really weird," Ali said.

"Why's that?"

"They are just really isolated, like they only hang out in their little group, and if you have seen them they all look like they are on some kind of drug."

"Yeah I noticed."

Suddenly Mr. Taylor called our names and warned us to end our conversation. I sank into my seat a little and remained quiet for the rest of class. Finally class ended and I began to gather my books.

"Well it was nice meeting you," Ali said.

"You too,"

"You should sit with us at lunch,"

"Ok I will,"

'Great!" she cheered and then exited. I followed slowly behind and headed off to my next class. The rest of my morning was thoroughly uneventful. Finally it was lunch time. I got into the line and while I waited I scoped out the cafeteria. I spotted Ali table and she waved to me. I grabbed a salad and a water bottle. As I paid the cashier Paul suddenly appeared.

"Hey Maddie," I jumped and then glared at him. He smiled trying to feign innocence, yet his eyes were still filled with that adoration from earlier.

"Hi"

"So how was your morning?"

"Well besides the fact that about every person in my first four periods kept staring at me, I would say it went pretty well."

His faced softened with sympathy, "Yeah I know how that is."

"You?" I said faking surprise, "impossible." He rolled his eyes and laughed. I started heading away from the line.

"Hey why don't you sit with me?" he looked at me hopefully.

"Well you see I have a prior invitation, but how about tomorrow?" He seemed to be happy with that.

"Alright,"

"Just consider the wait as punishment for cutting me off this morning," I laughed. His faced filled with horror again.

"That was you?"

"Yup,"

"Sorry about that," he said as if he were thoroughly angry at himself. I could just imagine him internally scolding himself.

"It's ok." At that moment I saw Ali giving me a look.

"Well I'll talk to you later ok?"

"Yeah see you," he said disappointedly. I went and joined Ali at her table.

"Hey," I said as I sat down.

"Maddie, this is Jenny, and Matt," she said point to the boy and girl seated to her left. "And that's Ryan and Whitney," she finished by pointing to the boy and girl who sat on my side of the table.

"Hi," I greeted. They all said their hellos and then returned to their own conversations.

"Hey Ali what else can you tell me about Paul?" I asked failing to contain my curiosity. Ali glanced at Whitney and then back at me.

"Well he's kind of a player, you sort of lives by that love 'em and leave 'em code. He is all sweet at first then he just seems to grow bored. Also he is always ditching school with his little gang."

"Oh," I filled with enormous disappoint at this statement.

"Plus, he got a lot of anger issues. He is always in fights with somebody."

"He's not that bad, you're just mad because none of them will give you the time of day," Whitney suddenly jumped in good heartedly.

"I am not," Ali said but a slight blush crept into her cheeks. Whitney rolled her eyes and I forced a smile.

"So how do you like it here so far?" asked Ryan changing the topic.

"Ummm… its ok, I guess," I tried to sound convincing.

"That great, huh?" He laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much," I replied. I glanced around the cafeteria and spotted Paul and his friends. He was saying something to Quil as his eyes drifted away and met mine. Quil noted his gaze and glanced over his shoulder. I averted my eyes swiftly back to my table but I felt Paul watching me the rest of the period, not in a creepy stalker way but in that inquisitive way.

After lunch was over my day continued to drag until finally it was 7th period and it was English. I loved reading so English became my favorite subject early on. I walked, found a seat, and checked to see if I was starting to recognize anyone. Suddenly Paul walked in, pausing when he saw me and then swiftly took the seat behind me.

"So how was your first day?" he asked.

"I'll let you know after this class," I replied in a guarded tone. Ali's word at lunch lingered in my head. A confused look spread across Paul's face, he started to say something but the teacher called my name and I brought my attention to him. After a few minutes of trying to listen to the lesson, I grew more and more aware of how close Paul was. I felt utterly silly and spent the whole class mentally scolding myself, but the feeling grew stronger and stronger. By the time class was over it had become a physical chore to not turn around and just stare. Class ended and everyone shot to the door. I stood up and stumbled slightly. My legs felt jelly. Paul caught me by the arm but I had already steadied myself.

"I'm good," I said, sneaking in a swift glance at his face. Bad move he still wore that confused look from earlier. I headed for the door but he followed close behind and stop me once I got outside the room.

"Did I do something to upset?" he asked.

"No," I answered curtly.

"Then what's wrong,"

I tried to look taken aback, "nothing."

"I don't believe you," he replied. His tone was joking but for some reason I didn't like his questioning.

"That's your choice," I bit back. He took a step back and looked at me. He obviously was getting irritated.

"What is going on with you?"

"Nothing I just don't like the idea of being another conquest," Paul looked very startled but his face quickly turned angry.

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard about your little games, you know about all the other girls you've been with,"

Paul clenched his teeth and gave a shudder. He leaned in very close and I could smell the woody scent that surrounded him. I instantly felt guilty for my words.

"Don't believe everything you hear," he said and then stormed off. I just stood there and watched him walk off.

**Hopefully you liked it, I made sure it was a nice long one. Review and tell me your thoughts, please and thank you!**


	4. Apologize

_Live with wolves, and you learn to howl._

_-Spanish Proverb_

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**Chapter 4: **_**Apologize**_

That night I had a dream that I was being chased by a pack of wolves. I woke up shaking still hearing their howls and vicious snarls. I did not fall back asleep; I just lay there and spent the rest of the night thinking about Paul and what I had said. Finally I decide that tomorrow at school I would find him and apologize.

The next day Paul was not at school, actually for the rest of the week he wasn't there. My guilt grew and grew as each day past. I was angry with myself for let my temper get the better of me. It happens quite often that my mouth goes before my brain. Finally by Friday I had decided that if he wasn't at school I would go to his house after school and apologize. It was a small town so I found his address without people thinking I was some crazy stalker.

School ended and I walked wearily to my car.

"Maddie wait up!" I head Ryan calling me. I sighed and waited for him to catch up.

"Hey Ryan what's up?" I replied as I began to walk again.

"Well, I don't know if you heard but tomorrow there is going to be a bonfire at the beach,"

"Oh yeah Ali told me about it," I responded.

"Oh well I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?" I stopped walking abruptly. Ryan faltered with my sudden halt. I tried to think of some excuse in my head but I kept drawing blanks.

"Sure, why not?" I finally countered.

"Great! I'll pick you up around 6,"

"Ok I'll see you then,"

"Ok see you," Ryan said and he walked away with a huge grin. I felt a slight tugging inside me like agreeing to go with Ryan was a bad idea. I readjusted by book bag and then went back to my apology mission.

I tossed my book bag in the backseat and looked at the piece of paper that had Paul's address on it. I started the car and headed off. It took me a little while to find it but I finally got the right house. I took a calming breathe and exited the car.

I walked towards the door slowly and raised my hand to knock. Before I could knock the door flew open and I ended up beating Paul's chest.

"Maddie?" Paul wore a pleased expression.

"Ouch," I muttered and shook my hand. "Are you made of stone or something?" I asked jokingly. Paul gave a brief laugh but his eyes remained aglow with happiness.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize for what I said the other day," I said quickly dropping my eyes to look down at my shoes. Paul was silent for a second and then he broke out into a loud laugh.

"You came all the way here to apologize for that." I gave him an irritated look. "I mean thank you I accept your apology but you really didn't have to come all the way out here just to say you're sorry," he continued. I bit my lip; of course I didn't have to I should have just waited until he came back to school.

"You're right, it's just you weren't at school and I felt guilty so I came here. I'll go." I started to walk away.

"Wait!" I stopped and turned. "Why don't you come in and tell me what I missed this week, I mean since you drove out here and all" he said. I thought about it for a few seconds.

"I guess I can stay a little while," I decided.

"Great," Paul said in a very excited voice. I eyed him suspiciously but enter the house. He led me into the living room and he placed himself in the middle of the sofa. I scanned the room and plopped down in the armchair across from him.

"I don't bite you know?" he said. I scowled at him but he simply laughed and leaned back into the sofa. I looked around at the shelves crammed with books and photos.

"Do you read a lot?" I asked.

"No they are my dad's, I don't really get a lot of down time to just relax and read," he said in a mocking tone like he knew something I didn't. I stood and drew closer to exam the books and the pictures. Paul watched me silently as I scoured the items.

"You know I have read a good portion of these titles," I laughed. A picture in a silver frame caught my attention. There were three people in the photo. They were at the beach and it was a bright sunny day. There was a man who looked similar to Paul and a woman with a smiling, joyful face. A little boy sat between the two of them, he wore a huge goofy grin that seemed familiar.

"That was taken when I was about two," Paul's whispered into my ear. I glanced up only to be staring into Paul's deep chocolate eyes. I turned quickly back to the photo but Paul remained close by.

"That was my mom," Paul whispered close to my ear.

"Was?"

"She died when I was about five,"

"I'm sorry," I said as I turned again to face him.

"It's ok," we grew quiet for a minute or two; we just stood there inspecting each other. The room seemed to freeze in time; everything was still. Then chiming of a clock broke the silence. I backed away from Paul and glanced at the clock.

"I should probably go," I said, my tone was filled with a strange melancholy. My body seemed to detest the idea of leaving his presence. I made a move for the door but Paul's request stopped me.

"Wait." Turned around and stared at him.

"Yeah?"

"There is going to be a bonfire at the beach tomorrow," he paused to see what my initial reaction would be.

"And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go, with me?" I watched his face the whole time he was speaking. All I saw was hopefulness and uncertainty play across his features.

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. For some reason my head was screaming at me to answer yes even though I was already going with Ryan.

"Sorry I know that was kind of sudden," Paul instantly added.

"No it's not that it's just, someone else already asked me to go," I mumbled. I studied the carpet beneath my feet once again unable to look him in the face. My gosh how cowardly am I.

"With who?" Paul asked after a long awkward silence. I was startled my how much anger was in his voice.

"Ryan Williams," I whispered. I risked a glance at Paul and instantly regretted that choice. His eyes were filled with pain but he was obliviously angry. All Paul could manage to do was nod his head. He was shaking again like he had Monday afternoon when I yelled at him.

"I need to go," Paul stated suddenly and brushed past me. I followed him out the door and he stood on his porch as I got in my car and pulled away. I glanced in my rearview mirror and caught sight of Paul taking off into the woods. I bit my lip and a fresh wave of guilt swept over me.

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**Author Note:**** Just a little note, I am going to say that this takes place after Breaking Dawn. So the Cullens' have left Forks but I am changing the fact that Jacob started his own pack in that book. Sorry if any one doesn't like that; I just want him around and part of the group. Reneesme is still his imprint but I doubt if I'll have her appear in this, but you never know. Any way thanks for reading and remember to review! **


	5. Starlight

**Author's Note: I discovered another fan fiction with Paul in it and his last name is Walker so I'm changing his last name to Paul Foster.**

_How lonely is the night without the howl of a wolf._

_-Unknown_

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**Chapter 5: **_**Starlight**_

Later that night I sat in the living room watching It's a Wonderful Life. I did not care if it was suppose to be a Christmas movie; it was one of my favorites so I watched it whenever I wanted to. My favorite part is when James Stewart's character tells Donna Reed's Mary that he'll get her the moon.

I was hoping that it would take my mind off my guilt over earlier events. I could just never win with that boy. I decided about half way through the movie that I was cursed to feel guilt about Paul Foster for the rest of my existence.

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The next day I woke up to find that it was actually sunny outside for the first time since we had moved here. I was so grateful for some sunshine that I ended up spending the entire day outside. I helped my dad rake the leaves and cut the grass and then I spent the rest of the time on the deck in the backyard reading.

Finally around four I headed inside and started getting ready. At six o'clock Ryan was at my door ready to head off.

"Bye mom, bye dad!" I shouted as I grabbed my favorite hoodie and made a quick run for it. I did not want to have to go through the whole meet the parents deal.

"You look nice," Ryan commented as he started to pull out of the driveway. I glanced down at my simple outfit of jeans, a snug t-shirt and flip flops. I laughed slightly and thanked him. We reached the beach quickly where there were already a few people. I saw Ali, Jenny, Matt, and Whitney as I got out of the car. They were sitting around an already blazing fire in a group with three other people I did not recognize.

"Maddie! Ryan!" Ali waved us over. We quickly headed over to join them.

"Hey guys!" Whitney said.

"Hey Whitney," I said as I took a seat next to her. Ryan sat down on my other side. Whitney gesture to the three unfamiliar faces.

"Maddie this is Heather, Matt's girlfriend, and…."

"Henry." Ali finished Whitney's statement by introducing the guy she was snuggling with.

"They go to the high school in Forks," Whitney said quietly. I nodded my head in understanding.

"Crap" I heard Ryan whisper.

"What's wrong?"

"Stacy's here, my ex-girlfriend," Ryan answered shaking his head. I glanced over where his car was parked and I saw a tall blonde making her way over to our fire.

"Do you want to go?" I asked regretfully. I was very familiar with Ryan's situation and I seriously sympathized with him.

"No, it's alright," Ryan said but he quickly put his arm around my waist. It felt completely awkward but I tried to ignore it, yet for some reason Paul kept coming to my mind and I found myself glancing around waiting for his arrival. Finally I saw Embry, Quil, Paul arrive along with two other boys and a girl I had seen from school.

"Whitney who are the other three with Embry, Quil, and Paul?" I asked quickly. Ryan didn't notice my question he was too busy staring at Stacy who was talking admittedly with Jenny.

"Oh that's Jacob Black, Jared Mason and his girlfriend Kim Strom."

Paul finally noticed my presence and his face broke into a grin. Unfortunately he suddenly saw that Ryan had his arm around my waist and his smile quickly faded into a grimace and he looked like someone had knocked the wind out of him. Quickly he whispered something to Jared who glared in my direction. Paul turned around and started heading away from the group.

"I'll be right back," I informed Ryan and I took off before he could answer.

"Paul!" I shouted as I ran after him. He ignored me and kept walking.

"Paul wait," I demanded. He finally came to an abrupt halt and I had to back pedal slightly.

"What?" he asked sharply; his whole body was shaking. His tone cut into me and I winced.

"Why are you leaving?" I asked meekly, though I knew the answer. He sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Why do you care?" he asked. I dropped my eyes to the ground. I remained quiet trying to find the right answer to the question. Why did I care if he left? I had only known the guy a week and already he occupied much of my thoughts and I constantly found myself trying to make him happy, why did I care so much?

Suddenly I felt Paul's hand under my chin. He tilted my face up to look at his.

"Why do you care if I stay or go?" he repeated but the way he said it made me feel like there was a deeper meaning to the question.

"I don't know," I stuttered. Paul's hand dropped and he surveyed the beach; there was pain in his eyes.

"Come on," he said suddenly and headed off towards the water. I followed quietly behind and we walked along the shore in silence for a few minutes.

"Why didn't you come to school this week?" I asked. Paul's stride falter for a second but he quickly answered my question with the excuse that he had been sick.

"Oh,"

"Why did something interesting happen while I was gone?" Paul asked trying to be humorous. I scoffed.

"As if anything exciting could happen without Superman around," at that statement Paul's mood lightened.

"If you don't mind me asking, why exactly did you move here?" Paul asked. I glanced ahead and then looked back at Paul.

"My grandfather died over the summer and he left everything to my dad. Both of my parents are from La Push originally so they decided it would be a good idea to move back to their childhood home," I explained. Paul looked slightly confused.

"I'm adopted by the way," I added guessing at the reason for his expression. Paul nodded in understanding.

"Did you ever meet your real parents?" he asked.

"No" I replied simply. "Truth be told I don't think I would want to meet them if I had the option."

"Why?" Paul asked. I sighed.

"I already have to fantastic parents, I don't need to meet my real ones to prove that to me," I said. Suddenly a chilly breeze swept across the beach and I shivered slightly.

"Didn't you bring a sweatshirt?" Paul asked in a concerned tone.

"I must have left it in Ryan's car," I said suddenly noting my sweatshirt's absence. Paul's expression immediately darkened at the mention of Ryan's name.

"I'll go get it."

"I'll come with you."

"You don't have to."

"I know," Paul uttered. I shrugged and we made our way towards Ryan's car. I was in front of his car when I suddenly stopped short. Ryan was already at his car with his lips cemented to Stacy's. A menacing growl came from Paul's direction and the pair suddenly broke apart.

"Maddie…what?...I," Ryan stammered but he was at a loss for words. I rolled my eyes at him but Paul wasn't going to let him off that easy.

"You little weasel!" Paul hissed and lunged for Ryan. Stacy gave a squeal and suddenly Paul had Ryan pined against the car.

"Paul!" I shouted hoping no one would come to see what the commotion was about. My hopes were dashed when Jacob suddenly appeared.

"Paul let him go!" Jacob demanded. Paul ignored him but Jacob stepped forward and pried Paul's hands from Ryan's shirt. Paul stormed away with Jacob following behind. Ryan stood in a daze looking from me to Stacy.

"You are so lucky," I said and then I ran off after Paul and Jacob. I found the two near Paul's truck whispering with Jared and Kim. They all grew silence as I approached. Paul appeared calmer but he wore a worried expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing just something's come up and I need to go," Paul explained. Jacob whispered something to Jared and he nodded.

"We're going to take Kim home we'll meet you at Sam's," Jared announced. Paul nodded and the three left us alone.

"Well I better go then," Paul said.

"Ok,"

"Do you need a ride?" he asked.

"No I'll just grab a ride with Ali," I said sadly. All of sudden I didn't want him to go.

"I'll see you on Monday," Paul replied and he got into his car. I watched as he drove off and I remained standing there until I lost sight of his truck.

**Remember to review and tell me what you think! **


	6. Hanging By A Moment

_It's like holding a wolf the ears…You don't want to hold it, but you don't want to let go._

_-Jeremy Lewis_

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**Chapter 6: **_**Hanging By a Moment**_

Much to my severe disappointment Paul was absent from school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Where does this kid go? And the weirdest part was the teachers didn't seem to mind.

By Thursday I had completely given up hope of him being at school, apparently though the universe enjoyed toying with my sanity. I got to school and headed to my locker stopping to talk to Ali first about our Saturday shopping trip. When I finally arrived at my locker my heart did a little flip-flop. Paul was leaning against my locker looking around the hallway. I took note that he looked exhausted. His tired face brightened when he caught sight of me approaching.

"So where have you been, Mr. Kent, out saving the world?" I asked in a mocking tone as Paul moved off my locker.

"Something like that," his tone of voice caught my attention. He sound too sincere and I wondered what he meant by his answer. Instead of asking him I just laughed; sometimes I asked too many questions.

Suddenly Paul handed me something from behind his back.

"What's this?" I questioned before I realized that it was my sweatshirt that I had forgotten in Ryan's car.

"How?...Where?" I stuttered in disbelief. I could not imagine how he had retrieved it.

"How did you get this?" I finally managed to put together a coherent sentence. Paul smiled with a mischievous glint in his brown eyes.

"I have my ways," he answered.

"Oh so you know Tony Soprano too," I replied.

The bell rang and Paul walked away before I could question him further.

Paul was waiting outside my fifth period class after the bell rang.

"So are you still available for lunch or do I have to make another reservation?" Paul asked as if he already knew my answer would be yes.

"I do believe my lunch schedule is free," I smiled up at him.

"Great!"

I followed Paul to the lunch room and we began to fill our trays. I glanced over at Paul and scoffed. He looked up at me in a questioning manner.

"Are you seriously going to eat all that?" I asked point at his obnoxious amount of food piled on his tray.

"Of course," he said as he handed his money to the cashier.

"Your stomach," I muttered and Paul just chuckled.

He led me towards an empty table on the other side of the cafeteria. I sat down he took the seat right next to me.

"So why did you have to leave the bonfire so early?" I asked curiously. Paul smiled and leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"You ask a lot of questions, you know that?" he said. My breath caught in my chest as his breath tickled my ear. I can't believe I was acting so silly. I felt like I was a middle school girl all over again with her first crush. I laughed nervously as he returned to devouring his food.

"Hey, I grew up reading Nancy Drew," I held my hands up in a mock surrender. Paul rolled his eyes and shook his head but he still had a smile plastered on his face. I was really starting to like his smile; it was contagious once he smiled I couldn't help but smile as well. Paul was staring at me and I couldn't help staring back at him.

Then the most ridiculous urge came over. All I wanted to right then and there in that crowded school lunch room is just lean over and kiss him.

"Hey guys!" I heard a husky voice say suddenly. Paul broke his eyes away first and scowled at our new table addition.

"Thanks Embry," Paul said in an irritated voice.

"Any time!" Embry replied with a smile. I noticed Quil, Jared, and Kim heading over to our table as well.

"Hey Paul are you going to introduce us or should we do that ourselves," Jared said as he took a seat across from Paul. Kim took the seat across from me.

"Maddie this is Jared and Kim, you already know Quil and Embry," Paul said.

"It's nice to meet you two," I said politely, though I was slightly nervous. All four guys were huge and rather intimidating. The situation wasn't help when four more boys joined us. Paul introduced them to me as well. There was Seth Clearwater, Jacob Black, Brady and Collin.

"So Quil is Claire going to be visiting this weekend?" Embry asked, not aware that I was listening. I whispered to Paul.

"Who's Claire?"

"She's a friend of ours' niece," Paul said. He didn't continue so he left me wondering why Quil would need to see her.

"So Maddie did you have fun at the bonfire?" Kim asked me quietly. Paul and the others were talking about something else entirely though Paul kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I'll admit I was also sneaking peeks every now and then as well.

"Yeah, it was pretty interesting. At some point we started telling scary stories," I laughed.

"Oh really, what were they?"

"Some local legends, something about cold ones and wolves," I said absent mindedly. I sensed Paul suddenly froze and every single at the table grew silence. I looked around at everyone.

"What?"

Paul shook his head and dismissed the silence, "it's nothing." His eyes were filled with uncertainty. Everyone tentatively returned to their own conversations.

"I hope those legends didn't scare you too much," Paul said with a slightly worried edge to his voice.

"They're just stories, as in not real," I replied simply. Paul grew silent and remained that way until the period came to an end. He disappeared afterwards leaving me in a complete cloud of confusion.

**Author's Note: Sorry if it was kind of short but the next chapter will be longer i promise. Ok so I really enjoy receiving feedback from my readers ****so for every person who reviews I will reply to their review with a preview for the next chapter.**** So basically review and get a sneak peek! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Crushcrushcrush

_Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey._

_-Lord Bryon_

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**Chapter 7: **_**Crushcrushcrush**_

"No way!"

"Why is it so hard to accept that I've never seen the Dark Knight," Paul said in an amused tone obviously he was enjoying my overly dramatic reaction.

It was Friday afternoon in English and we had gotten into pairs to discuss the first couple chapters of the book we had started. Of course everybody was more interested in talking about their weekend plans than discussing the book.

"But it was a summer block buster!" I cried.

"I was a little busy last summer," Paul answered.

"Well you know what this means don't you?" I said in a very serious tone. Paul's face became riddled with worry.

"What?"

"That just means that I'll have to kidnap you after school and force you to watch it," I said staring into his eyes and keeping my very serious voice. His eyes grew bright at my suggestion.

"And how are you going to manage that?" he asked.

"I have my ways," I mimicked his voice he had used yesterday when he said the exact same thing to me. Paul just rolled his eyes; he knew I would never stand a chance against him if he decided to kidnap me, not that I would really object.

"Ok but how are you going to accomplish your elaborate kidnapping scheme without a car?"

I snapped by fingers and then went into a fake pout.

"Darn foiled again!"

Paul stifled a laugh and pried by arms away from their crossed position. He placed his hands on the desk and held my hands inside them.

"Ok I'll make you a deal," I could feel the rough texture of his hands as well the intense heat radiating from.

"Ok," my voice came out in a sort of high pinched tone.

"How about if I drive us both back to your house and you forget your little kidnapping plot," Paul leveled with me.

"Are you sure, because my plan involved Embry knocking you out and Quil whisking you away to some undisclosed location," I said but I was still very focused on the tingly feeling that was searing up my arms and moving throughout my whole body. I felt so silly he was just holding my hands which it really didn't even qualify as real hand holding in the first place, but for some reason I was getting a gitty feeling in my stomach.

"I'll have to pass on that one," Paul chuckled. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Your loss," the bell announced the end of school and Paul released my hands, much to my displeasure. We both stood.

"I'll meet you at your car," we exited the classroom.

"Okay," Paul said and he headed off to his locker. I practically ran back to mine and I tossed my books into my bag and made a break for it. Paul was already at his car waiting for me when I finally managed to squeeze through the crowds of students.

"What took you so long?"

"You cheated, I am itty bitty and you are just a massive giant of muscle," I retorted using dramatic hand motions to elaborate my point.

"Just get in the car shorty,"

"Oh now you attack my height," I said but I gleefully hopped into the passenger seat. Paul gunned the engine and shot out of the parking lot.

"I would like to get home in one piece," I said as we flew down the road. Paul obediently slowed down.

"Well, that was easy," I muttered. I would have thought he would put up more of a fight but then again Paul is always surprising me. Like his supposed temper, he actually appears to be a pretty calm person the only outburst I've seen him have was when he went after Ryan but then again who wouldn't?

"You turn here," I directed Paul towards my house. Paul pulled into my drive and I mentally groaned. My mother was home. Great. Paul was already out of the car by the time I was finished thinking. He opened up my door and held it open for me.

"Are you just going to sit in my car for the rest of the day?" Paul asked.

"Huh, oh sorry," I apologized and jumped out of the car. Paul followed behind me as I led the way into the house. I threw my bag on the bench near the door.

"Mom I'm home! And I brought a guest!" I announced. I glanced up at Paul and for some reason he actually looked nervous. My mom suddenly came into the hallway and eyed Paul carefully.

"Mom this is Paul, Paul this is my mom," I spoke quickly to not let an awkward silence set in.

"It's nice to meet you Paul" my mother stuck out her hand and Paul cautiously shook it. I had to keep myself from laugh at how nervous he still was.

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Blanche,"

"Please call me Sarah," my mother then addressed both of us.

"Well I was about to go and get ready for my shift but I baked some cookies so help yourselves."

"Thanks mom!" I said while I grabbed Paul's hand and led him into the kitchen. I heard my mom head up stairs.

"You mom seems nice," Paul said before he grabbed a cookie and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help but smile.

"She's the best," I picked up my cookie and took a small bit out of it. Paul had already taken two more. I glanced down at the plate and then gave a look.

"What?"

"Looks like we are going to have to replenish the cookie supply."

"So where does your mom work at?"

"She's a nurse at the hospital in Forks, and my dad works for some law firm in Port Angeles," just as I finished my mother reentered the kitchen.

"So Paul I don't believe I caught your last name,"

"It's Foster."

"Your dad wouldn't happen to be Daniel Foster?" of course my mom would know his dad why did that surprise me, it's probably better that she did because if she didn't she would probably call up her CIA connections and find out everything about the guy her daughter just brought into the house. Parents got to love them.

"Yep that's him," Paul answered not knowing whether this revelation was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Oh I went to high school with him, he was such a nice guy," my mother explained with a smile. Paul instantly relaxed.

"Mom shouldn't you be going," I said in a not so subtly please-leave-us-alone voice. Mother got the hint she was very good at that.

"Your right I'll just be heading off your father won't be home until late, he's going out with a few old friends tonight okay?"

"Got it," My mom grabbed her keys started heading out the door until she paused.

"Madison, remember the rule,"

"Mom!" I cried and practically shoved her out the door.

"Bye!" she shouted in a cheerful voice. I rammed the door shut and sighed.

"So what rule would she be referring to exactly?" Paul asked.

"Non-relatives of the opposite sex must be out of the house by eleven if no parental supervision is present," I repeated in my mother's stern voice.

"Oh," Paul said in an overly dramatic tone.

"Why don't we get started on those cookies?" I suggested changing the subject. I got out the ingredients as I told Paul where to find the mixing bowl and measuring cups. I set out the stuff and read the directions aloud while Paul stood right behind me. I tried to keep my voice in check but it was getting a little shaky with the thought that he was so close.

"1/2 cup of water," I read and grabbed the measuring cup. I made sure to keep my eyes on the floor as I headed towards the sink.

"Paul will you measure out the oil," I placed the cup in the sink and moved the faucet over it. I flipped the knob on and got a great big surprise. Suddenly water came shooting out and I screamed. I made an attempt to back out of the way but instead I slipped and fell to the floor. Paul pounced on the faucet quickly turned the water off. The stream of water stopped instantly I remained sitting on the floor in a puddle of water.

"Are you ok?" Paul asked as he crouched down beside me.

"Yeah, I don't think I broke anything," I laughed. Paul also laughed but he still looked worried like he was still waiting for some odd injury to appear.

"I'm fine promise," I said as I looked him in the eyes. Unexpectedly the world seemed to freeze. The clock seemed to stop ticking and there was a long pause in the dripping of water. Paul came closer to me very slowly while still holding my gaze. His eyes were burning with an unfamiliar intensity. Suddenly I couldn't take the suspense anymore and I threw myself at him; my lips crashing into his. My whole body grew warm and I pressed myself closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He responded instantly hungrily placing his hand on the small of my back and bring me closer still while he placed his other hand on the back of my head. My lips felt like they were on fire. Never have I ever experienced a kiss like this. We broke apart to take a breath. We just started at each for a minute.

"Wow," was all I could manage to breathe out before he pulled me into another intensely deep kiss.

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**Author's Note: YAY! Yes they did just finally kiss! Ok now go be good readers and review and earn yourselves another sneak peek and remember if you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to make them.**


	8. Heels Over Head

_Oh, no, no don't get so frightening. No, you're a good big bad wolf._

_-Tom Cruise_

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**Chapter 8: **_**Heels Over Head**_

**Paul's Point of View:**

_Yesterday afternoon…_

"She thinks the stories are just myths!" Emily gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Embry said with his mouth stuffed to capacity with food.

"Oh yeah I'll just go up to her and say 'Maddie I'm a werewolf."

"Shapeshifter," Jared coughed under his breath. I glared at him.

"Oh shut up," Jared just smirked at my outburst.

"I don't care how you tell her just tell her already or I will!" Embry threatened.

"I'd throttle you!"

"You'd try," I chucked a biscuit at Embry's head after his comment. It bounced off his head and he caught it before it hit the ground.

"Hey how come you're nice to Maddie but I get things chucked at my head?"

"I like her better," I mumbled. Embry pretended to be utterly insulted by this.

"Paul, he's right you should just tell her," Emily's voice broke into the conversation.

"Not now when things calm down I'll tell her. I don't want to be brought into the middle of all this."

Emily nodded in understanding then she continued, "Well at least bring he by sometime soon, I would love to meet her."

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**Maddie's Point of View:**

_Present…_

The movie was playing on the television but we were hardly paying attention to it. Paul had his arm wrapped around my waist and I was curled up close to his side. Every so often throughout the movie he would kiss the top of my head causing my body to tingle all over with goose bumps and my breath would grow uneven. Of course once I would gain control he would kiss me again and the whole calming process would start all over again.

Finally I sat up knowing that I was seriously endangering my health with all the sporadic beating of my heart. But my attempt was halted when Paul pulled me back down onto his lap.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he kissed my neck lightly. My only response was a quiet exhale of air. He moved his hands so that they were cradling my face and all I could do was stare into his eyes completely stupefied. His eyes were sparkling with a fiery intensity. He smiled another gorgeous smile and kissed me again.

This kiss seemed even better than the last. I ran my hands through his hair and he grew more passionate in his kissing until whole body seemed to be covered in goose bumps. I gave an involuntary shiver and Paul smiled against my lips. I wanted to stay in this moment forever.

My phone began vibrating on the coffee table. I groaned and pulled my lips away from Paul. I heard him curse under his breath while I reached for my phone.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"I don't know if your mother told your but I won't be home."

I quickly cut him off, "yeah she told me." Paul began to run his hand up and down my back and I shot him a warning look. He just smirked and continued causing me to begin to lose focus on what my dad was saying.

"Ok well while we're gone can you make sure to pull a load of laundry in and to feed the fish."

"I'll hop right on it," I muttered.

"I'll right good-bye honey,"

"Bye dad," I hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. Paul chuckled and a turned to glare at him.

"What?" he asked in a confused voice.

"You are such a troublemaker you know that?" Paul continued smirking and I just rolled my eyes.

I took a glance at the TV and notice that the movie had already ended and that the credits were rolling, Paul seemed to notice as well.

"We should write a book, on 'How Not to Watch a Movie"

"It would become a bestseller and then we could retire with our earnings," I laughed. I pressed the power button on the remote, switching the TV off, and I snuggled it Paul's chest. He wrapped his arms round me in response. I couldn't believe how comfortable I was simply just sitting here; usually I had to have music blaring or something. I inhaled the woody scent that surrounded Paul; it reminded me of the fresh smell of Christmas tree.

"So have you lived in La Push your entire life?" I asked.

"Yup,"

"Are you an only child?"

Paul chuckled, "what is this twenty questions or something?"

I sat up and shrugged my shoulders, "I was just curious that's all."

"Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

I scoffed, "Well cats have nine lives so it's all good."

"Yes I am an only child, now for my own question."

"Ok, shoot."

"What's your favorite color?"

"That's an easy one silver or gray. What's yours?"

"Hey cheater you asked the first two questions."

"If you answer the question I'll let you have two extra ones,"

"Fine, green. Now what's your favorite animal?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"A wolf," Paul suddenly got a really goofy look on his face. It seemed like my answer pleased him a great deal. I wondered why but he continued on with his questions.

"What is your ideal job?" Now that was a good question.

"I want to be a designer." Paul gave me a quizzical look.

"A designer?"

"Yes, got a problem with that buster?"

"Nope, no problem."

"Good." I crossed my arms and gave him a satisfied grin.

"Alright for your final question, what's your favorite song?"

"Viva La Vida by Coldplay," I replied automatically.

"My turn!" I cheered. Suddenly a silly question popped into by head and I suddenly blushed with the thought of it.

"What?' Paul asked noticing my rosy cheeks.

"Nothing, it's just a dumb question,"

"Come on just ask it, I promise I won't laugh." The sincerity in his voice caused me to ask the question out loud.

"What is your favorite thing about me?" after the words were out of my mouth I duck my head. It was such a ridiculous question.

"Your eyes." Paul voice startled me and I looked up at him to make sure he had actually spoken.

"What?"

"Your eyes, my favorite thing about you are your eyes. They are so beautiful especially when you are happy than they are just breath-taking. I can always tell what kind of mood you are in when I look into your eyes," the seriousness in his answer caught me off guard. I just sat there staring like an idiot.

"Did I say something wrong?" Paul asked and a fearful look came over; like the greatest tragedy in his world would be to upset you.

"No! Not at all," I reassured him. He calmed immediately.

"By the way, my favorite thing about you is your smile," I mumble looking at everything but his face. I could however tell that he started smiling at that comment.

"When's your birthday?" I silently thanked God that Paul was kind enough not to ask for a reason. I would feel ten times more stupid if I had to explain that.

"September 15th, when yours?"

"June 18th."

I heard the clock chime and Paul sighed mournfully.

"I better get going," my mind began screaming to find a way to make him stay.

"Do you have to?" I asked in the same saddened tone he had used.

"I have work tonight," I nodded in understand and we both stood up from the couch. He placed his hand under my chin and pulled me into another deep kiss. My knees started to go weak and my thoughts became all fuzzy. When the kiss was over Paul made his way to the door and I followed behind him. It was pouring rain by now but Paul didn't seem to notice. He was about to leave when he paused and turned to me.

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

"That depends on what you had in mind?"

"Would you like to go out to dinner with me?" Paul asked. He still seemed completely unsure of what my answer was going to be; silly boy.

"I would love to," Paul smiled his million dollar smile; that boy could sell anything with that smile.

"I'll pick you up at 7," he added and then he pulled me towards him and gave me a heart-pounding, head throbbing, spin tingling, movie-worthy kiss and then he was gone.

I stood there standing on the porch for a good 15 minutes recovering. Finally when my pulse had returned to normal and my head had stopped swimming I managed to stumble into the house completely unaware of my surroundings.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Okay now go review and get a preview!! (It would be really cool if everyone who has me on their author alert commented…just saying.) FYI: if you don't want a preview but still want to comment that's fine just say so.**


	9. Temporary Insanity

_Last night I dreamed that I was chasing a pack of wolves, trying to belong._

_-Anonymous_

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**Chapter 9: **_**Temporary Insanity**_

_**Paul's Point of View…**_

I sat at the kitchen table with a goofy smile on my face. My dad eyed me suspiciously.

"So I am guessing things went well with Maddie?" my smile grew wider as I recalled the memory of holding her in my arms of kissing her…

"Hello, earth to Paul, anybody home?" my dad's sarcasm quickly interrupted my train of thought. I scowled at him and he continued reading his paper.

"Oh the joys of imprinting," he answered with a sigh. I saw the pain in his eyes as he recalled the memory of my mom. My dad was never a werewolf but from all of the stories that I had heard from my grandparents my parents were definitely soul mates. I winced at the thought of losing Maddie. My whole body began to shake from the completely horrible thought.

"When are you seeing her again?" my dad quickly prevented me from exploring the thought any further. For that I was definitely grateful.

"Tonight we were going to go out to dinner," I replied.

"I hope its someplace inside, you remember what Sam said?" Damn! He was right I had completely forgotten about Sam's warning. Suddenly a better place came to mind.

"Actually I thought I might bring her over here to meet you," my dad's looked sincerely interested at that point.

"Well it's about time."

_**Maddie's Point of View…**_

I awoke the next morning feeling extremely giddy. I practically danced through my whole morning routine and when Ali came by to pick me up I literally skipped out the door. Of course I heard my parents snickering at my little performance but for once I did not mind.

"What happy pill are you on missy?" I smiled and shrugged as Ali questioned my joyful state.

"I just woke up in a good mood today," I simplified.

Ali accepted this answer without any questioning and we sped down the highway to Port Angeles listening to the radio. I noticed that Ali was checking her phone every time we came to a stop sign, light, or a pause. Finally we pulled up to the curb and exited the car. We entered a nearby boutique and browsed the endless racks of clothing. I caught Ali glancing at her phone once again.

"Is someone suppose to call you?" I asked. Ali's head shot up. She did not realize that I had been noticing her frequent phone checks.

"No, it's nothing don't worry about it." I gave her my don't-lie-to-me look.

"Come on tell me what's going on?" Ali's face filled with worry and then she came closer to me.

"Ok it's no big deal, I'm just overreacting but you remember Henry, my boyfriend?"

"He's the one I met at the bonfire right?" Ali nodded and lowered her voice.

"Well two days ago he apparently just took off."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like he had this huge fight with his parents and he just left the house. He's done it before but he usually comes back the next day or calls me to let me know that he's ok."

"Ali you don't think something happened?"

"I don't know, his parents were freaking out because whenever he calls me I usually let them know he's alright but I haven't heard a word from him. I tried calling his cell but it just keeps going straight to voice mail."

Ali's lip quivered and she looked like she was ready to cry. I pulled her into a hug.

"Hey I'm sure he's fine. This is La Push what could possibly happen?" Ali nodded in agreement and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm ruining this shopping trip,"

"No you are not," I sincerely meant it to. For some reason I suddenly felt antsy that I wasn't with Paul. A feeling of unease like I wasn't completely safe swiftly crept over me until I had goose bumps running up my arms.

"If you want we can just try again next weekend. By then I'm sure he will have turned up," though my voice was riddled with sincerity my brain to me that something was definitely wrong with Henry's disappearing act.

"Ok let's go."

_Later that day…_

Paul had simply said dinner. But I was completely confused as to what he meant. Luckily he was kind enough to inform that it would require casual dress but the where was still a mystery. Once I got back from my rather unsuccessful shopping trip I had been stuck inside the house all day due to a heavy down pour. Finally Paul arrived and I just about fell down the stairs trying to reach the door.

Unfortunately my dad beat me there.

"Hello you must be Paul," my father said in a very even tone. Uh-oh. That was his voice he used when he was sizing someone up I could just imagine the expression he was wearing. He would undeniably be smiling but his eyes would be completely cool rather scary; it unquestionably was effective I mean all the guys who were just trying to get some never did return.

"Dad!" my dad smirked as I squeezed myself out the door. Paul smiled and I slipped my hand into his.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Blanche," Paul answered and he stuck out his hand towards my father. They shook hands.

"Quite a grip you have there," my dad said with a laugh. I interrupted before Paul could respond.

"Ok dad can we please go now?" my dad crossed his arms trying to look more the part of a menacing authority figure. It was of course an epic failure considering how much bigger Paul was compared to him.

"Well that depends Paul where do you intend to take my daughter?" I wanted to smack my hand to my forehead.

"I was just going to have her over to my house for dinner with my father and me." My dad nodded his head.

"Okyougotyourinfonowwe'releaving," I said in rushed tone and pulled Paul away from the house. I mean didn't exactly pull Paul anywhere because come on that would probably be an almost impossible feat.

We made it safely to his truck and he pulled out onto the road.

"So am I really going to be meeting your dad?" I asked.

"Of course, why did I sound like I was joking?" Paul replied.

"No but a little warning would have been nice," I glanced down at my outfit, "I feel a bit underdressed."

Paul glanced at me and gave me a disbelieving look.

"What?"

"I think you look beautiful," he said with great sincerity and warmth. I instantly blushed, which of course made me turn by head the other way so he wouldn't see it.

"Of friend of the family, Sam Ulley, and his fiancé Emily Young are going to be there too, I hope that's ok," Paul said his voice quivering with uncertainty.

"That's fine, the more the merrier," I said in the most reassuring voice I could muster. Paul could tell however that I was nervous. He took one had off the wheel and reached across the seat to take a hold of my own hand. I smiled reassuringly back at him and we sat in a relaxed quiet until we pulled into his driveway. He gave my hand a squeeze and I opened my door slowly. Paul was at my immediately and he wrapped his arm around my waste as he lead me up the walk. We paused at the front door and Paul gave me an encouraging kiss.

"Dad we're here," Paul called as we entered the house.

"We're in the kitchen!" came a voice from the other room. It sounded like a more mature version of Paul's voice with the similar husky tone. Paul smiled and led me into the kitchen where a man and a woman sat at the table while an older man hovered near the stove. The man by the stove looked towards us and gave a huge smile.

"You must be Maddie," He stepped away from the stove to shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you I'm Mr. Foster," he continued. His hands were lukewarm compared to Paul which made me wonder where the constant heat came from.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner," I replied politely. Paul kissed the top of my head and I unconsciously drew closer into his embrace. His dad's eyes fill with amusement. Mr. Foster chuckled and returned to the pots and pans on the stove while Paul redirected me towards the table.

"This is Sam Ulley and Emily Young," I smiled at the pair. Sam was a little larger than Paul but with the similarly cropped hair and toned muscles. His face was mature and his expression was one of knowing and assuredness.

Emily was an amazingly beautiful woman. I felt slightly intimidated by her. She smiled and that's when I noticed the scaring on the other side of her face. I returned her warm expression and then quickly redirected my eye sight back to Paul.

"Everyone take a seat dinner is served!" Mr. Foster said with great pleasure in his voice. I took my seat next to Paul and waited expectantly.

"Remember that we have a guest ok?" Mr. Foster continued giving both Sam and Paul the same warning look. Emily smiled with amusement like she understood exactly what he was hinting at. I on the other was completely at a lose. Mr. Foster filled our plates and we finally settled in for the meal.

"You know Paul has been constantly talking about you since you arrived here," Mr. Foster informed me.

"Dad!" Paul hissed at his father but his pleas were ignored. I blushed and glanced self-consciously at Paul.

"I hope all of them have been good things," Paul nodded in response to my answer. My body filled with intense warmth and I happily returned to the conversation.

Mr. Foster and I ended up bonding over our love of books and by the end of the night I had made plans to have Emily teach me some of her recipes that Paul loved. She did assure me that he would eat almost anything and from what I had already seen of his eating habits I didn't dare disagree with her. Paul and Sam had spoken very little throughout the whole visit choosing instead to be the silent observers. I did feel Paul's eyes on me the entire time and I felt entirely comfortable with that.

When Paul finally drove me home I felt like I was going to drown in my own happiness. Meeting Paul's father had gone especially well and Sam and Emily both really liked me. Paul walked me to the door and we stood staring at each other briefly. He leaned down to give me a kiss but suddenly pulled back.

"What?" my voice clearing expressed the surprise in experienced from his reaction.

"Your parents are watching us," he whispered. I rolled my eyes and caught him off guard by giving him a kiss on the lips; even though it was brief it got the message across.

"Good night," I whispered and then rushed inside the house, leaving Paul in a similar state to how he had left me the previous day.

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**So I hope by now you know what to do, so go and click that review button! PS: Next chapter Paul tells Maddie he's a werewolf. Yay! Excitement!**


	10. Think Twice

_Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is._

_-German Proverb_

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**Chapter 10: **_**Think Twice**_

_**One Month Later…**_

You that feeling you get when everything is going great in your life and you are kind of waiting for something bad to come along and ruin that; well that's the feeling that came over me as I was driving to Emily's house that afternoon.

Paul and I had been dating for a little over a month by now. I had never been happier; nothing could ever burst my bubble. He was always there when I needed him and we could sit in complete silence just staring at each and be completely comfortable. I found myself spending a great deal of time at Emily and Sam's house since that is where I could often find Paul. His friends were great and I had grown very close with both Emily and Kim. Leah was a different story though she consistently kept to herself and was never really in a friendly mood.

Sure Paul had odd working hours or things would come up that forced us to reschedule our plans but Paul always seemed to be sincerely sorry about it and he always made it up to me. Unfortunately Henry still remained AWOL and Ali was definitely having a hard time dealing with it. She was doing a little better now compared to how she was when his parents first filed a missing persons report.

My thoughts returned to the present as I pulled up to Emily's house and Paul stood in the front yard waiting for me. I got out of the car and was swept up into Paul's arms and spun around.

"Hello beautiful!" he said once he set me on my feet. I stood on my tip toes and gave Paul a gentle kiss.

"Awww come on guys! She hasn't even been here one minute!" Embry's voice drifted from the porch and Paul pulled away. He scowled and at Embry.

"I'm going to kill him," he muttered under his breath.

"No you won't," I answered and just to make Embry uncomfortable I gave Paul another deeper more romantic kiss. I heard a fake gagging sound coming from Embry's direction.

"Come on everyone's already inside," Paul said after our kiss ended.

"Finally!" Embry cried and rushed back into the house. I laughed in response and followed Embry's lead. Upon entering the house all of the guys cheered for my arrival.

"Emily she's here can we eat _now_?" Seth asked in a desperate pleading voice. I swear all the food that these guys eat could actually feed a third world country…twice.

"Not yet!" Kim answered Seth's pleas.

"I'm going to see if I can be of any help," I told Paul before I joined Emily and Kim in the kitchen. I took a look at all the food laid out.

"You two better dig in right now before it all disappears," Emily advised in her motherly tone. Kim and I giggled and began preparing plates for ourselves. Once all three of us were ready we let the boys know they could finally satisfy their appetites.

I leaned against the counter in order to avoid the swarm. Paul soon took his place by my side and began shoving food in his mouth. I rolled my eyes at him and he simply responded by giving me an innocent grin.

Kim had taken a seat next to Jared and they periodically exchanged secret looks with each other. I had always wondered if Paul and I would ever look at each in that way. With Jared and Kim their look displayed the intense capacity of their feelings. They looked at each other like there were no secrets between them and that they were the only two in the room; Sam looked at Emily with the same expression.

I saw Sam mouth something to Paul but I couldn't make it out. I really hated my lack of ability to read lips. Paul simply shook his head in response.

Suddenly Leah came bursting into the kitchen. I hadn't even noticed her absence but now her presence was made known. She prepared to say something but caught sight of me and gave me dark look. Paul returned her look and wrapped me up in a protective embrace.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"You need to come outside," Leah answered. She always had a pained look in her eyes whenever she looked at Sam, I always wondered if maybe those two had a history together. Sam nodded and left Emily's side to follow Leah outside.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Paul. I had noticed a hushed silence fall over the group and everyone was exchanging uncertain looks.

"It's nothing," Paul said but his voice was filled with anger and fear.

"Paul…" Sam's reentrance interrupted my integration.

"We have to go," his voice rang with finality. All of the guys immediately stood and filed out the door. Paul was the last to leave.

"Wait!" I begged. Paul paused and turned to face me. He placed both his hands on either side of my face and cradled it gently. His eyes stared at me with immense longing.

"I'll explain everything when I get back," his hands dropped and he walked out the door. I stood at the window watching them make their way towards the woods. Emily and Kim remained frozen in their original spots. They obviously knew what was going on.

The group began to disappear into the woods and suddenly I made an irrational decision. Just as Seth disappeared I burst out the back door and ran after them. I heard Emily and Kim shouting for me to return but I ignored their words.

I made it into the forest where I could see the trail of footprints in the muddy ground. I became acutely aware of how cold the air was. I moved slowly forward until I came to a small clearing where everyone was gathered. I ducked behind a tree and listened to Sam giving instructions to each one.

"Collin and Brady will stick with me, Paul go with Jared and Leah. Embry and Quil, you two together, and Seth go with Jacob."

Everyone nodded in compliance and suddenly a twig snapped under my foot. No one seemed to notice except Paul whose head shoot up and immediately found me. His eyes filled with pure dread.

"NO!" Paul lunged for Sam but he was too late. By the time Paul's words hit the open air Sam's body had begun to shake and seize until he transformed into a massive black wolf.

My blood curdling scream was the only thing to pierce the eerie silence of the forest.

**Paul's Point of View:**

The situation had gotten much worse and to top it all off when I got back to the house I would have to drag Maddie right into the middle of it all. I was beginning to fill with self-loathing at my inability to keep her out of all this. My only desire was to protect her.

Sam finished giving his instructions and he prepared to phase. I heard a twig snap close by but everyone else ignore it. I glanced in the direction of the sound. To my utter horror Maddie stood watching this whole meeting, half hidden behind a tree.

"NO!" I attempted to stop Sam's transformation but it was too late. His body had become that of a large black wolf.

Maddie's scream filled my ears and drowned out everything else.

**Maddie's Point of View:**

My heart was banging against my chest as I flung myself through the throngs of branches and bushes. I heard my name being shouted from behind but it didn't register with my brain. All I could really understand at that point is that my boyfriend's friend had just transformed into a wolf. My heart pumped faster as I dwelt on this thought. I was just about to clear the woods when my foot caught on a fallen log and I fell forward.

I heard slight panting in front of me and I fearfully looked up. The black wolf was standing in between and my exit. I screamed again and flew backwards only to be caught and pulled up by Paul's large hands.

"Maddie!"I twisted and fought but Paul's grip was too good.

"Please Maddie listen…"

"Let me go!" my voice was shaking, Paul released me and I stumbled forward a good distance. I spun around and stared at him in disbelief. Pain was evident on his face and he eyes pleaded with me. Sam, or the wolf, or whatever it was had disappeared and my path way was clear once again, but I remained rooted to the spot.

"What the hell was that?" I cried my tone edged with hysteria. Paul inhaled and looked at his hands.

"I'm a werewolf," his voice had almost dropped to a whisper. My jaw dropped at his explanation. He glanced up tentatively and his eyes reflected the disbelieving expression I wore on my face.

"You're crazy!" I spat. I backed up a couple of inches as I said this. It didn't matter because Paul just came closer.

"It's the truth!" I kept vigorously shaking my head in confusion. Paul was in front of me now. He cautiously reached out to place his hand on my arm.

"Don't touch me!" I flinched away from his touch and wrapped my arms around my torso. The amount of pain that filled his face sent the feeling of a thousand needles coursing through my veins. My heart seized and my body began to become overwhelmed by the encroaching cold air.

"I know you're scared, but you have to listen to me this wasn't how you were suppose to find out." I dropped my eyes to the ground and simply remained silence. I felt Paul examining my face trying to predict my reaction. My brain and heart were waging an epic battle inside me.

My brain was screeching out its demands to run and stay away. That is was not normal and it could be dangerous. My heart was countering these attacks by saying that I had deeper feelings for Paul than I could have ever imagined and that I could eventually come to terms with this whole werewolf thing.

My eyes began to fill with tears and I blinked slowly letting the tears roll down my face. I looked up and met Paul's tortured gaze.

"Stay away from me," my voice was barely audible but Paul's face immediately lost all expression at all. He looked liked a blank canvas. I allowed my body to follow my brains instructions to leave. My feet carried me slowly to my car. I shut the door behind me and made short gasping attempts of catching my breath. I heard the tormented sound of a wolf howl in the distance. When I heard this sound a jagged chill raced through my veins and gave my heart a sharp pierce before my body went numb.

It wasn't until I was safely locked inside my bedroom at home that I let myself become unhinged. The world faded away, all that was left was pain.

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**Ok, yes this was a sad chapter. Now I don't have the next chapter written yet so I can't really give you a preview yet, I'm sorry I will not make a habit of it I swear! But what I would really like is your opinions, like how you think the story is going, what you want to happen, etc. Thanks to everyone who has been reading my story you are fantastic people and I promise I will update as soon as possible. **


	11. Shattered

_It was Beauty killed the beast._

_-King Kong_

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**Chapter 11: **_**Shattered**_

I wasn't completely sure of what time it was. My vision was hazy and my eyes stung from dryness. My room was dark but then again the shades were pulled down and I was wrapped up in my comforter. I couldn't actually remember getting into my bed.

I found myself being grateful that my parents had decided to go on that trip with some of their old friends. I don't think I could have been a believable actress at this point in time. Luckily I could probably manage a convincing phone conversation about how I just caught a cold and it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

Unfortunately the feeling of loneliness blindsided me and I gave a dramatic choking sound when I realized how alone I was at that moment. My breath was uneven, my heart rate elevated, and my throat ached.

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. I had been in this state for about 5 hours now. It seemed so much longer like weeks had passed.

Paul's face appeared in my mind suddenly and I cringed away from the look he wore. It was a hideous look of desperation, sorrow, hopelessness, one might find that look only in someone who has lost everything.

My head began to pound, my hands started shaking, and my stomach felt like it was being brutally twisted into tiny knots. I flung myself off my bed to escape the pain and just ended up tripping on my mass of sheets and stumbling to the floor. The pain eased and I slow brought myself to my feet.

As long as I didn't think about him that pain wouldn't become so intense. Of course will my deciding to avoid all thoughts of Paul I had set myself up for another onslaught of pain until I forced myself to think about something else, perhaps I would do some of the cleaning my parents had asked me to do.

Yes, the pain once again faded but there remained a dull throbbing as if to remind me that the pain was still there and could consume me with one wrong thought. I listlessly opened my bedroom door and shuffled down the stairs like someone who was still half asleep. The phone rang causing my muscles tensed and goose bumps spread across my skin. I walked hesitantly towards the phone and breathed easier when I saw the caller id.

"Hi mom how's your trip?" my voice was as light and cheery as I could make it.

"Hi darling, it's really going well your father and I have already done so much catching up!"

"Hi Maddie!" I heard my dad shout my name in the background. My parents had been so excited to reunite with their old friends. They had rented a cabin near some beach and were enjoying the natural wonders of nature. I had teased them about the timing of the trip since it was the end of November but they said it didn't bother them. Apparently this little trip they were on was like an annual thing until my parents moved away.

"That's great!" I sat on the arm of the sofa as my mother and father took turns telling me about the ride up there and the hiking they had done today. I laughed at all the right moments and gave all the proper reactions as if I was on stage performing for an audience. Then suddenly the walls came crashing down.

"So how was Sam and Emily's house?" my throat constricted and I almost lost grip of the phone. You know that point in a movie when something bad is about to happen and the music starts to building? Well let's just say the music was building.

"Maddie?"

"It was great! Yeah Emily made us lunch and we all just hung out." My voice was convincing enough.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time, is Paul there too?" My mother voice was one of joking and seriousness. I couldn't help flinching at the sound of his voice.

"No he had to work,"

"Oh alright,"

"Mom I have to go," I explained quickly.

"Ok honey I'll talk to you later bye,"

"Bye mom." the other line went dead and I sat in shell shock. A bright red flashing from the answering machine distracted me. It said there were three new messages. I tried to remember if I had even heard the phone ring.

The first message was from my mother. She had called earlier and reminded me to call her back.

The second message was from a telemarketer, which I quickly erased.

The machine confirmed the deletion and moved on to the final message.

"Maddie it's me," his voice drifted from the speaker and my heart skipped a beat.

"You have to give me a chance to explain. I need to talk to you…soon. Please call me!"

His voice was pleading and filled with pain that struck me in the heart and seemed to carve a permanent place for itself in my brain. This would be the point in the movie when the bad thing occurs and the music is now blasting at full volume.

I managed to arrive at school that next day incredibly early in hopes of avoiding a certain person. I was rewarded by the sight of not seeing him or his car lurking around. I practically ran towards the building and to my locker.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him at my locker waiting. He looked up and saw me. I didn't even bother to look at his face because I knew I would fall apart. My adrenaline began to rush and exactly like the fight or flight response I bolted down the hall back outside with an inhuman speed.

He was faster. He grabbed my waist and carried me off to the side. I didn't fight, knowing I would just injury myself in the process. He stopped near the edge of the encroaching forest, away from prying eyes. He set me down and I put a great deal of distance between the two of us, until my back was pushed up against a tree.

"Maddie please don't do that." His voice had greatly changed, it was quieter but at the same time it had a horrible piercing miserable quality to it.

"Why not?" I snapped. Unfortunately voice was monotone and the anger intended in the words was not obvious.

Silence began to engulf the space around us.

"So what you just woke-up one morning and poof you're a werewolf?" I gritted my teeth to try and control by anger.

"Not exactly."

"Well then tell me how a normal teenage boy could possibly turn into a werewolf!" Paul sighed and looked around as if gathering his thoughts.

"According to Quileute legend, or history however you want to look at it, Quileutes' descended from wolves."

"Aren't werewolves suppose to change with the full moon?" my frustration and fear had been steadily increasing at this point.

"Well technically we are just what you would call shapeshifters." I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"What?"

"Oh nothing I'm just waiting for you to tell me that Count Dracula and 'real' werewolves exist." Paul shifted uncomfortably, my eyes widen at the meaning behind his silence.

"Are you serious?!"

"Not about the Count Dracula thing," he tried to giving me a comforting smile but then his face darkened, "but there are vampires."

He watched my reaction go from shock, to anger, to fear.

"I can't deal with this right now."

"Maddie" Paul grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away.

"This isn't how the world is supposed to be! Werewolves and Vampires shouldn't exist!" I didn't know whether I was addressing my statement towards him or myself. He dropped my arm and stepped back. I stood frozen in my spot.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to be honest." His voice was lower now almost as if he knew he was going to lose this fight.

"I think we should just stay away from each," my voice was just a whisper but he heard it. His features filled with immense despair as he took a few calculating steps towards me and placed a hand on my cheek. He gently directed my face to look at him. I did look but I focused on his lips, cheeks, nose, anything but his eyes.

"Is that what you want?" he asked with suddenly no emotion in his voice but utter defeat.

"Yes," he released my face and stepped back. He was still as a statue as I started to walk away once again. I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was still standing there. He was but his expression terrified me. Nothing was there, it was just blank. Eerily I felt that I wore the same expression.

I hated the idea of having to endure a day of school so I just went home. I managed to stumble up the stairs, back to my room but that where the trouble started. I had come to a stop right in front of my mirror and I looked up and stared at myself. My eyes were glassy but I had been right earlier it was the same blank stare Paul had worn.

I don't think I have ever exhibited this kind of behavior. It was probably equivalent to that of a demented banshee. If an outside observer had witness my actions that followed they would have swiftly called the mental institution to come and take me away.

It started spiraling out of control when I slammed my fist into the mirror's glass and glass and spider webbed cracks spread across its surface. Pain seared through my hand and it began to bleed but I continued to rip things off the counter scattering them across the floor. My thoughts were cruel and unforgiving.

_You've ruined everything._

_You've destroyed him._

I fell to my knees and for the first time since this whole thing started, I began to cry. Sobbing, screaming, unending tears of despair. Nothing else was real.

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**Review and Preview! FYI the next chapter is really interesting in my opinion…just saying.**


	12. Set the Fire to the Third Bar

_To look into the eyes of a wolf is to see your own soul - hope you like what you see. _

_-Aldo Leopold_

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**Chapter 12: **_**Set the Fire to the Third Bar**_

I hide out in my house for the rest of the week. Ali and Whitney called numerous times but I just ignored their calls or would call them back when I knew they wouldn't answer. Ali was kind enough to drop off my homework for me after each day. I didn't even have the luxury of sleeping. Every time I would drift off to sleep I would pulled into a horrible nightmare where every single mistake I had made was utterly clear. Around Wednesday night I finally came to the conclusion that the waking world was slight better that dreaming one, only slightly.

It was Friday night and I sat on the couch watching the news. I don't know why but I found even the most mundane things had become large distractions. The report mentioned two more missing persons in the area along with other tragedies occurring in the world. The weather man warned everyone about the possibility of a blizzard and then began ranting on and on about the air pressure and all that other technical weather stuff.

My cell phone buzzed on the table and I picked it up, thinking it was my parents, and answered in my sickly happy tone.

"Maddie, its Ali!" I could hear loud music in the background.

"What's up?"

"Can you come over?" Ali's voice was helpless and I didn't have the energy to refuse.

"Ok I'm on my way." After I hung up I do what I could to make myself look half way decent, if nothing else at least I looked conscious.

Ali's driveway and street was swarmed with cars. Thankfully I had walked but I was shivering by the time I entered the house. The place was packed with familiar and unfamiliar faces. Music was pounding from through the rooms and the place smelt of alcohol and sweat. I wanted to gag but I heard my name called and saw Ali beckoning from the stairs. I pushed my way through the crowd and followed Ali up to her room. She closed her door and locked it.

"Thanks for coming over," she gave me the once over and then threw me a questioning look.

"What?" I asked defensively as I shrugged out of my coat.

"You look like crap," she answered quizzically.

"Thanks," my voice was angry and filled with sarcasm. I swiftly changed the subject.

"What is going on here?"

"My parents are once again gone on a stupid business trip and they invited my two older cousins to stay at the house with me. They decided to throw a party but as you can see it has gotten way out of hand."

"So you are hiding up in your room?" she nodded and I took a seat next to her on the floor.

"Exactly…oh my God what happened to your hand?" she gripped my wrist and examined my hand. My knuckles were bruised and riddled with scabbed over cuts.

"Nothing," I mumbled as I pulled my hand away from her and quickly crossed my arms to hide my fist.

"So wait why did you call _me_?" Ali dropped her eyes to the ground and I sat starring at her.

"My cousins have done this before. Usually Henry would come over and stay with me." Shame washed over me as she said this.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so ignorant,"

"It's alright." We sat in silence for a few minutes listening to the riot of people downstairs.

"What happened between you and Paul?" Instantly I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

"How did you know?"

"You both weren't at school this week. Plus Whitney said she saw Paul in town the other day and he was in an ugly mood; snapping on anyone who talked to him. He was even behaving that way towards his friends." I winced slightly and hoped Ali wouldn't notice. She did.

"Did you guys have a fight?" I didn't answer but my eyes rapidly watered and tears silently rolled down my cheeks.

"Maddie, I'm sorry…"

"It was my fault." I gulped down the sorrow and brushed the salty tears from my cheeks.

"He told me something important and instead of getting more facts I basically ran away screaming." My voice cracked at the end.

"He must hate!" I continued on. Ali didn't respond for a long time and I thought perhaps she agreed with me.

"He doesn't hate you." I snapped my head in her direction to find her staring at me with complete confidence. "Ask me how I know that?"

"How do you know that?" I mumbled not entirely interested at what she would have to say.

"Because he asked me at the week to keep checking up on you." I looked at her in confusion.

"I would have called you once you hadn't shown for a couple of days, but he made me promise that I would keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't fall behind. That's why I stopped by your house a couple of times to drop off your homework."

I sat in utter disbelief and shock. He didn't hate me? How was that even possible, I mean after all the pain I had caused him, he still cared?

A loud crashing sound echoed from upstairs and interrupted our conversation.

"Crap!" Ali rushed from her room to inspect the damage that had been done. I slipped my hand into my coat pocket and pulled out my cell phone. There were no missed calls and I absentmindedly scrolled through my phonebook. There was only one person I wanted to call. My heart seized at the thought of hearing his voice. I got to my feet and shrugged into my coat then I placed my finger on the call button. Before I could press it Ali's door suddenly burst open and Ryan stumbled in. His face wore a confused expression until he caught sight of me then he filled with happiness.

"Maddie!" his greeting was slurred and I could tell he had been helping himself to the drinks present. Ryan came closer and put his arm around my shoulder.

"I want you to know that I am really sorry for what happened at the beach," he gurgled. I strained a smile and tried to shrug off his arm. His arms were not the ones I wanted. Unfortunately he stumbled with my movement and we both fell on the bed.

"Ryan," I mumbled and tried to stand again. He pulled me back down and drew closer. I moved my head further away still trying to get back on my feet.

"I am really sorry..."

"You already said that," I interrupted.

"I did? Oh yeah, well you know I should really try to make it up to you."

"That's ok you don't…" before I could finish Ryan shoved himself forward and smashed his lips into mine. I struggled in his grasp and finally broke free from the kiss. My whole body filled suddenly with aching for Paul.

"Awww coming on don't be that way!' Ryan pleaded as he grabbed my waist tried to kiss me again.

"No!" I shoved his face away but he still continued to force himself on me. Suddenly my fist lashed out and smashed into Ryan's nose. He screamed with surprise and agony and flung his body backwards. I sprinted from the room before he could recover. Everything became blurs as I dashed outside and begin tearing through the freezing rain that had begun to fall. My lungs were burning from the icy air I was breathing in but I just kept running blindly through the streets.

The rain beat at my face making me stumble multiple times until finally I tripped and went sprawling forward. I scrapped my knee on the ground and tore up my already aching hand. I hissed from the pain but forced myself to stand. My clothes were practically soaked through and I could feel the weight even more now.

Lightning flashed and illuminated the area for a brief second. My eyes were directed to some movement in the grove of trees nearby. I squinted to get a better look at what was there. I apprehensively began moving forward slowly. The darkness rapidly started to become brighter and I saw a pair of headlights approaching. The car rolled to a stop and a familiar voice came from the passenger seat.

"Maddie get in!" I dashed toward the car and slid into the back seat. Jared and Kim both turned to stare at me in disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing out in this weather?" Jared took on the voice of someone who was scolding a young child.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I felt like a walk?"

Kim smirked at my comment and Jared shook his head in frustration. He pushed down on the gas pedal and the rest of the car ride was endured in silence. We came to a stop and I quickly realized that we had pulled up in front of Emily and Sam's house.

As we exited the car Kim and I ran for the cover of the porch but I saw Jared falter for a second. His recovery time was nothing more than two seconds which made me question whether he had really paused to begin with. He threw the door opened and hustled Kim and I throw the doorway.

My careful composure failed as soon as I saw Paul sitting next to Emily and Sam. Jared spoke first.

"Look who we found!"

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**Yes I did just leave you with a cliffhanger of sorts. Suggestions? Questions? Hehehe review and preview! (I am growing quite fond of that phrase).**


	13. Learning to Breathe

_I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman. _

_-Dan Castellaneta_

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**Chapter 13: **_**Learning to Breathe**_

"Look who we found!"

Emily sprang to her feet and rushed forward while Paul and Sam hung back.

"What happened? Jared where did you find her?" Emily was fussing over my sudden appearance while trying to get some answers out of Kim and Jared. I couldn't comprehend any of the words that were being said; my graze was steadily fixed on Paul who seemed to be in agony over having to keep his distance. I had to swallow the urge to run to him. He looked the same except for dark circles under his eyes and a cautious gleam in his eyes.

"Maddie you're bleeding!" Kim's statement pulled my attention back but Paul had had enough. He pushed forward and took hold of my injured hand that Emily had been grasping. Blood was seeping through the reopened wounds on my hand as well as my knee. Paul cradled my hand and examined it with a doctor like care. I can't tell you how much I had missed his warm touch.

"Emily can you get the first aid kit?" Sam asked as he appeared behind Paul. Jared whispered something in Sam's ear that caused Paul to stiffen. I heard a deep growl rise from Paul's throat and my eyes widen as Sam took in my reaction.

"Paul," Sam's warning quickly brought Paul into check. He gingerly led me into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for me to sit in. Kim followed while Sam and Jared began to discuss something. Emily reappeared with the bandages and Paul knelt before me and silently began to clean my hand. Emily and Kim slipped back into the living room leaving me alone with Paul.

The Neosporin sent a stinging sensation up my arm and I took a sharp intake of breath. Paul released my hand thinking I was protesting against him helping me.

"No, the medicine just stung," I quickly explained. Paul mumbled an apology before returning to bandaging my hand. Paul seemed so different to me and I wondered if I could ever manage to gain his forgiveness.

"Paul?" he looked up silently and studied my face intently; almost as if he was trying to memorize it. I lowered my voice, unsure if it would be heard or not.

"What are they talking about in there?" Paul shot a brief glance over his shoulder and appeared to be listening in on their conversation. He turned back and looked back at me.

"It's a long story."

"Okay." Paul finished with my hand and I took a wet towel and pressed it to my knee. Paul rose and moved to distance himself by leaning against opposite wall.

"So are you going to tell me why you were wandering, by yourself, in this weather?" he had folded his arms across his chest and was trying to display no visible emotion. I winced as I applied more pressure to my cut.

"It's a long story." Paul smirked at my copied comment. Sam suddenly appeared in the door.

"Paul we have to go."

"I'll be right there."

Sam glanced over at me.

"Maddie you should probably stay here for the night, Jared says the roads are a mess."

I nodded in agreement.

"Emily will give you some dry clothes,"

"Okay."

Sam exited just as quickly as he had entered and Paul made a move to follow but paused.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," I knew that I didn't have to but one look at Paul's face told me that he wanted me to stay. I thought for a moment and then I stood up.

"When you get back I'll tell you the long story." Paul's eyes flashed with hope that was quickly snuffed out by uncertainty.

"Promise you won't go outside until I get back." I was utterly confused by his request but I nodded my head. He gave me one last look before he disappeared out the door. I instantly regret letting him leave. The impending loneliness that had all but disappeared while he was present suddenly reared its ugly head with a vengeance. I struggled to appear normal as Emily lead me to the guest room where she had laid out some clothes for me.

Later that night I laid sprawled out on living room couch trying to sleep. I envied Emily and Kim's abilities to sleep so soundly but then again I guess they had never behaved as I had. I would periodically glance out the window and survey the trees for any sign of Paul. Finally I saw three figures approaching and I quickly threw myself under the blankets and pretended to be asleep.

The door opened quietly and I heard the three of them shuffle into the room. I heard Sam whisper something but it was too low for me to understand. I heard Sam and Jared head down the hallway and then I heard apprehensive steps coming towards me. I opened my eyes slowly and found Paul knelling beside the couch.

"Not very convincing?" I asked with a weak smile.

"Not very," Paul answered in a mockingly sympathetic tone. I sat up and readjusted my seat on the couch. I was hurt to see Paul move across the room and take a seat in the armchair, but then again I probably deserved it. There was a brief moment of silence until Paul spoke.

"So can I hear this long story now?" I had really been hoping that he would have forgotten about that little detail.

"You aren't going to like,"

"Well you aren't going to like mine either so consider us even." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Ali called me and asked me to come over because the party at her house had gotten out of control." Paul was listening intently.

"So I went and …then when I left I decided I wanted to walk." I realized how utterly stupid that ending sounded but I did not want to tempt Paul's temper.

"You're lying." I suddenly yawned very dramatically and stretched.

"Wow, I'm really tired." Paul looked at me and dropped the act. He rose from the chair and reseated himself next to me on the couch.

"What made you leave?" I bit my lip trying to think of an answer.

"Ryan." I saw the anger flash in Paul's eyes and he clenched his fist in an attempt to stifle his anger.

"What did he do?"

"It was nothing, you're obviously angry and it doesn't matter," I tried to ramble on to one avoid the subject and two keep Paul from blowing up.

"Just tell me what he did," I could hear the anger in his voice.

"Well he was drunk so his judgment wasn't that sound," Paul began watching my eyes to make sure I was telling the truth.

"He just kissed me. That was it. I swear and besides I think I broke his nose!" I had said that whole sentence at lightning speed to soften his reaction. Paul had been shaking but all of sadden I realized that he was stifling his laughter.

"What?" Paul looked at me in amusement.

"How did you break his nose?" I couldn't believe he was laughing at me.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I took self defense classes," Paul grew somber and then looked gave me a sad look.

"Couldn't you have let me do that?" I laughed and hit his arm playful. Bad move. I accidently used my injured hand and my eyes water as the pain exploded in my nerves. I drew my hand back and grasped my hand.

"Are you alright?" Paul's looked like he was ready to rush me to a hospital.

"I'm fine I just wasn't thinking,"

"How did you hurt your hand?" Paul's voice was nothing but a whisper.

"I fell on the way here."

"Before that." Damn he was good; this boy was like a human lie detector.

"I was upset after I last talked to you so I hit my mirror." Paul clenched his jaw and looked away.

"It was my fault!" Paul shook his head in disagreement.

"How could it have possibly been your fault?" I was getting angry.

"Because if I hadn't tried to force you to accept the fact that I was a shapeshifter, you wouldn't have hurt yourself."

"You are so wrong!" his head shot up and looked at me in anger and questioning.

"You didn't try to force anything on me all you did was try and make me understand." Paul looked away again and I felt the gnawing pain inside my chest building.

"I'm sorry," I tried to keep my voice steady.

"For what?" As if he didn't know.

"For freaking out, for basically telling you that I was scared to be around you. Should I continue?"

Paul turned; his eyes were filled with determination and conviction. He placed both hands on my shoulders and looked me in the face.

"Don't you dare blame yourself!"

"I'm not making any promises."

"What can I do to make you stop blaming yourself." I thought for a moment and answered honestly.

"Nothing." Pain flared up in Paul's eyes. Paul released his hands and leaned back against the couch with a sigh.

"So are you now going to share your long story?"

"Tomorrow," I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Technically it is tomorrow," Paul remained silent.

"Oh how about I just ask you questions and you answer like 'where did you have to go?"

"I was patrolling." Paul's answer was automatic so I took this as a good sign.

"What's that?"

"Basically we go out, in wolf form, and search the area making sure it's safe,"

"From vampires,"

"Yes from vampires,"

I was greatly surprised at how well I was taking this in, yet I warned myself to be cautious. Unfortunately subtly is not one of my better qualities.

"Why did you get upset earlier, when Jared was talking to Sam?"

"Next question," I wasn't prepared for him to so obviously dodge the question.

"Paul please I've done good so far."

"Yeah but this will send you running again." I winced at his comment and regret filled Paul's eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that,"

"I know," I paused then continued, "but I am going to find out eventually so it's better if it comes from you instead of Quil or even Kim."

Paul opened his mouth to protest before realizing the truth in the situation. "Alright but you have to promise you will stop me if I say too much."

"Now that I can promise."

Paul sighed wearily. "You know how I said that I'm a Shapeshifter," I nodded in confirmation.

"Well there are real werewolves in existence." As soon as the sentence was completed something clicked in my brain.

"And a werewolf is here…in La Push?" No noise came from Paul's direction and I wasn't even completely sure he was still breathing.

"That's why Henry and those people…" my voice trailed off and I stared of in a daze. A sudden movement from Paul's direction caused me to gasp in surprise but it didn't stop him from reaching over and pulling me towards his chest.

"I would never let them hurt you,"

"I know" I murmured and I truly believed him. Except he said _them; _meaning more than one.

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**Review Please!!!**


	14. Sympathy

_Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to._

_-Alfred Montapert_

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**Chapter 14: **_**Sympathy**_

I had probably slept for only three hours last night but my mind was too preoccupied to think about being tired.

I awoke to the sound of hushed voices in the kitchen and no Paul in sight. For a moment I thought maybe our whole conversation last night had been a dream. Emily suddenly appeared in the doorway that separated the kitchen and living room.

"Did you have a good night sleep?"

I lied and just nodded my head.

"Well, I made breakfast if you're interested and your cloths are finally dry."

"Thanks Emily," she smiled and returned to the kitchen before I could ask where Paul went. I grabbed my cloths and dressed in the bathroom hoping Paul would suddenly appear when I was done. No such luck.

I wasn't very hungry so I decided to slip outside to get some fresh air and clear my thoughts. Once I got outside I found a small drizzle going on and I groaned in frustration. Suddenly a figure darted across the yard, heading towards the woods.

"Paul!" my voice was tinged with an odd mixture of giddiness and wanting.

His head quickly snapped in my direction as I bounded towards him.

"What?" I questioned the strange expression he wore.

"Nothing I just thought you'd have fled the state by now," his voice was joking but he seemed to truly wonder why I was still there.

"Yeah well I trying to develop a better reaction to certain things," I explained. I hadn't realized until now just how easy it was to be around Paul even after our horrible downfall. Paul smiled and hesitantly glanced at the woods.

"Come on, let's go for a walk," I followed Paul into the woods, unsure of where exactly we were going to be walking to. We remained silent for a good portion until I finally spoke.

"So vampires, huh?" Paul looked back and gave me a confused look.

"Well you said they exist right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well what is there to know about? And I've seen enough vampires movies, so if stakes and crosses are all it takes then I am going to be severely disappointed." I smiled but Paul remained unaffected. He continued walking, but he answered my question.

"You wouldn't stand a chance against a real vampire." His voice had a terrified edge to it as if he just pictured a meeting between me and a vampire.

"They can't be killed by a stake, and holy water, crosses, etc. don't affect them in the least. Cold skin, and they can walk around during the day; not in the sun though."

"Why?"

"They sparkle," Paul's voice cracked with amusement but I stayed focused on trying to picture that.

"Ok, what about you?" Paul stepped over a fallen log, whirled around and lifted me up over the tree.

"What about me?" He asked after he set me on the ground, though he didn't let go of my waist. I stared up at him and tried to concentrate.

"Well I…assume you don't…sparkle," I said very slowly.

"No, I'm just always hot," Paul grinned widely and then let go off me to continue walking. I could still feel the place where his hands had been.

"Huh?" I stumbled after him.

"All of us have a severely high body temperature. You run at 98.6 normally, while I, as well as the rest of the pack, run at a steady 108.9."

My jaw dropped.

"Wow, you'd really come in handy in an ice age," Paul rolled his eyes with amusement. We continued walking and I gazed at all the trees. The leaves were different shades of brown and didn't offer much cover. Thankfully the rain had finally stopped leaving only dark clouds.

"So what are you going to…" my question was cut short when I stumbled on a hidden tree root. Paul caught me from sprawling head first into the ground. I looked up at his face finding his eyes staring at me intently. He shifted his weight on his feet and released my waist. Walking a few steps forward Paul waited for me to continue.

"What are you going to do about the 'real' werewolves?" Paul gazed around the forest thinking of an answer.

"I don't know. I mean it's not like we have many chances to catch these monsters."

A shiver ran down my spine when Paul described them as monsters.

"For now, we are just trying to keep them from killing anymore people. It seems to be working pretty well actually; they seem to be easily distractible."

"Attention span of a goldfish."

"You know that's a myth?"

Paul and I laughed. I was glad because I had suddenly become overwhelmed with fear for Paul's safety.

_What if they the werewolves weren't as easily distracted as Paul and the others thought?_

"Ok what about silver? I mean isn't that what you're supposed to kill a werewolf."

Paul stopped short.

"They're still human." I looked at him in awe.

"After you call them monsters a few seconds, now you have qualms with killing them."

"Maddie, they turn into monsters, but they still have a human side."

"How do you know? Have you actually seen them turn back into humans or are you just running on a hunch?" my voice was filled with rage and I clenched my teeth while waiting for his answer.

"I'm going off of facts and we are not going to jump ahead of ourselves, we do not know enough about them to just go and kill them."

Paul was fuming by now; he stalked off and disappeared from my sight. I stood rooted to the ground stubbornly refusing to follow. Minutes passed, I grew more unsettled as the silence of the woods set in. I heard a twig snap nearby which sent me skittering off like a deer.

"Paul!"

He suddenly appeared from behind a tree causing me to scream from surprise.

"You are so stubborn," Paul muttered but he didn't seem to be angry anymore.

"You were close the whole time?"

"Of course I wasn't going to leave you alone in the middle of an unfamiliar forest." Sighing I turned to my right and looked around in surprise. Somehow we had managed to end up in my backyard. I slowly turned back to Paul.

"You know these woods, way too well," Paul smirked but he nodded towards the house.

"Your parents are home. They'll be wondering where you are."

I nodded in an absent minded way. "Right."

Paul placed his hand gently on my arm. "I'll be back later." He lingered uncertainly before gingerly kissing the top of my head.

Before I could protest he vanished into the cluster of trees and I forced myself to go towards my house.

My parents regaled me with just about every detail from their trip. I was glad to see them enjoying themselves and I did a stellar job of hiding any worry I had for Paul and the rest of his friends.

"I'm glad you guys had such a great time."

"We are too, but we really missed you sweet heart."

"I missed you guys too."

"Hey how about we go into Forks tonight and grab something to eat."

I shifted my weight and found an excuse.

"Actually could I get a rain check, I have so much homework to do."

My parents smiled knowing my tendency to procrastinate.

"Sure, we'll just order in tonight."

"Sound good."

I slipped up the stairs and shut myself away in my room. I actually did make an effort to start the work but my mind kept wandering back to Paul. It was driving me crazy not knowing what he was doing right now, but it did give me some comfort to know it wasn't a full moon tonight.

I put my books away and lay down in my bed to think.

I drifted off to sleep and dreamed of Paul.

_We were in the woods again but he seemed agitated and anxious. _

"_Maddie you need to get out of here! They will kill you!" I knew who we was talking about but I couldn't seem to move._

"_I'm not leaving you here." _

"_Maddie please! Go!"_

"_No!"_

_Paul's gaze was glance every which way. I could hear howls in the distance._

"_Why not?"_

"_Because…I love you."_

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**Just as a little side note I'm really sorry if the updates have been somewhat slow but school is in its final weeks so I ever just been super busy lately and I'm also suffering from a slight case of writers block. I promise that I will work really hard to get more chapters written and posted. If any idea for the story comes to your mind feel free to share, anything would be welcomed, but yeah back on topic hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	15. In Love With A Girl

_Now the hungry lion roars, and the wolf behowls the moon._

–_Shakespeare, a Midsummer-Night's Dream_

_**Recap of last chapter:**__**Maddie wakes up on Sam and Emily's couch after spending the night talking with Paul. She goes outside and finds him near the woods where they take a walk and talk about all the information Paul gave Maddie the night before. They argue about what should be done about the werewolves. The chapter ends with Maddie returning home, and later that night dreaming about Paul and telling him she loves him. **_

* * *

**Chapter 15: **_**In Love with a Girl**_

I felt myself being shaken gently. I grumbled and shoved my head deeper into my blanket.

"Five more minutes mommy!"

Alright whatever you say."

My whole body went rigid as soon as I heard his voice.

"Paul?" He chuckled at my obvious confusion. He was crouching by my bedside peering down at me.

"Who else?" I sat up and blinked at him in confusion.

"How did you get in here?"

"The window, though the attack dogs gave me a little trouble on the way up."

"Ha ha very funny." Paul smiled as I continued.

"So were you patrolling?" Paul nodded as I wiggled out of my comforter and took a seat next to him.

"What are you even doing here?"

"Well I did say I was going to be back later." I glanced at my clock that reading the glowing numbers displayed.

"So you couldn't use normal visiting hours?"

"I just wanted to check in on you. I wasn't going to wake you up but you seemed to be having a bad dream."

My muscles tensed.

_What did he see? Dear lord what did he hear?_

"What makes you say that?"

"Well the fact that you were tossing and turning was a bit of a giveaway."

_Phew, so maybe I hadn't said anything aloud. _

"Oh."

"So are you going to tell me what the dream was about?"

I glanced down at my carpet, appearing very interested in its intricate patterns.

"What was the rug attacking you?" I glanced up at him and smirked.

"Hey a rug can be a deadly weapon." Paul chuckled softly and I cast a cautious glance at my bedroom door.

I felt Paul's arm hesitantly warp around my waist and pull me closer. I leaned into him thankful for the tension-free atmosphere.

"Paul?" I looked up at him and met his eyes with determination. We stared at each other for a second before I suddenly pushed myself forward and crashed my lips against Paul's.

This kiss was better than all the other before. I felt like an addict who had been separated from their addiction for too long and was experiencing it once again. A hungry ache was developing in the back of my throat as Paul responded with even more intense passion, running his tongue along my bottom lip, tracing his fingers lightly along my spine. I moaned against his mouth as he pulled me down on the bed. I raked my fingers through his hair, taking in his long missed scent and feeling his own hands on my back pulling me closer so there wasn't an inch of space between us. His lips moved to the hollow of my throat and the heat grew more intense with each soft press of his lips. Every tissue of my body felt like it was on fire.

Paul's body heat suddenly disappeared and I heard him give a low groan. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. I stared at the ceiling as well, catching my breath and trying to get my emotions in control. Finally I moved to my side and looked at Paul; he had his eyes closed and his muscles were tense. I drew closer slowly and placed a light kiss near the corner of his mouth. His eyes opened and his lips spread into a smile. I returned the smile and rest my head on his chest.

"Paul?" I breathed his name in an uneasy fashion.

"hhmm?" Paul's hand stroked my hair as I tried to utter my request.

"Could you stay…with me?" Paul didn't answer for awhile and I grew nervous as the silence extended.

"Of course." Nothing more was said afterwards. We just stayed where we were, perfectly content.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew my alarm clock was blaring out its warning. My thoughts were all fuzzy as I tried to collect the events of last night. I was tucked safely into my bed with my comforter wrapped securely around me. I momentarily thought that everything last night was a dream until I saw a piece of paper resting on my bedside table.

_Sorry I had to leave early. _

_I'll be back to pick you up for school._

_-Paul _

_P.S. You are adorable when you sleep. _

A small smile spread across my face and it felt like I couldn't move faster enough in getting ready afterwards. I hardly tasted my breakfast as I wolfed it down and rushed towards the door. Paul was already waiting leaning against his truck with a glowing smile.

I tried to make my approach cool and collected, but my insides were doing every sort of gymnastic move in existence. My legs felt like jelly as I grew even closer.

"Good morning beautiful, how did you sleep?" he said with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Oh just fantastic, I had a great dream," I teased. He rested his palms on my hips and he leaned closer.

"Really? What was this fantastic dream about?"

"Well, this completely gorgeous guy climbed in through my window and spent the night just holding me in his arms." I put a frilly emphasis on the last part of my explanation. Paul brushed a strand of hair from my face.

"That's funny, your dream sounds very similar to the dream I had last night." I pretended to be entirely clueless.

"Really?"

"Really, except in my dream, I was the one climbing in the window of a stunning girl about your height, with similar features."

"Go on," I insisted.

"What more is there to say, only there was one really interesting part, that I skipped." My curiosity spiked instantly.

"And what might that be?" Paul seemed to ignore my question because he simply opened the passenger door and placed me in my seat. He didn't close the door though, he just remained standing there, watching me.

"You really want to know?" I nodded my head furiously; eager to hear about the part he skipped.

"Well in my dream this wonderful girl was still asleep when I arrived and she happens to be one of those people who talk in their sleep."

I could see my reflection in Paul's chocolate eyes; so I saw my eyes grow wide with disbelief and my jaw drop in shock.

"Whh…What did she say?" Paul smirked, but his eyes were filled with intense emotion. Paul leaned in and whispered his response in my ear.

"I'll tell you later." My mind reeled as Paul shut the car door and walked around the front to the driver's side. I couldn't comprehend any of my surroundings as we drove to school and pulled into a parking spot. Paul opened my door and grasped my hand as we made our way to the school building. I followed behind blindly too consumed by my thoughts to carry on a conversation. I remember at some point passing by Ali, who gave a very approving smile.

The only coherent thoughts in my brain right now were;

Paul had heard me say I loved him, and…

I had meant it.


	16. The Way I Loved You

_I've always said that the best wolf habitat resides in the human heart. You have to leave a little space for them to live._

_-Ed Bangs_

_**Chapter Recap: Paul arrives at Maddie's house later that night and stays the night with her. In the morning Maddie wakes up and finds a note from Paul telling her he would be back. When he arrives he hints that he heard her say she loved him in her sleep but he never fully tells her since they arrive at school at exactly that moment.**_

* * *

**Chapter 16:**_**The Way I Loved You**_

I was in love with Paul Foster.

I had no idea what was occurring around me as my brain tried to wrap itself around that unbelievable thought.

I had sat through my first period class consumed with nervous energy. My mind kept bouncing back and forth between the idea that Paul heard me in my sleep or he hadn't. As I was mentally freaking out a slow realization suddenly crept over me until I suddenly had an epiphany.

I was in love with Paul Foster.

From the moment we had met I had been hooked. That boy consumed a great majority of thoughts and I can honestly say that the entire time we were apart I felt like half of me was missing. It was a natural fit between the two of us; I never felt self conscious about myself when I was with him. Actually the only thing I truly felt when I was with him was utter happiness, the kind that almost makes you dizzy. The very idea of being apart from him again burned like fire, and I could very easily imagine having some sort of future with this funny, stubborn, handsome, loveable werewolf.

As I stumbled from my first period class I found Paul leaning casually against the opposite wall. He wore a knowing smirk and it took all my strength not to fling myself at him and smother him in kisses.

"Is it later yet?" I breathed as Paul slide his arm around me guided me to my locker.

"Not quite," he whispered. I grumbled mean names under my breath as I got my stuff out of my locker, obviously Paul heard every word but he didn't take any of it to heart. Paul chuckled before planting a kiss on the top of my head and disappearing down the hall.

The rest of the day was a blur of make-up work, missed tests, and anticipation. And I couldn't plead with him at lunch considering 1) I didn't want the others to start asking and 2) the everyone was consumed with the fact that Paul and I were back together. Though lunch period wasn't an entire waste considering everybody took turns filling me in on all the werewolf need know especially the fact that they can read each other's minds when they phase and they told me all about the Cullens, Bella swan, and their battle with the vampires. Seriously someone should have turned that story into a book. (wink, wink.) I was taking in knowledge like it was air.

Finally the day ended and I had to suppress the urge to jump in the air and do a little happy dance. Paul whisked me away as soon as I was ready to go. I waited until we had pulled out of the parking lot before integration began once again.

"So when exactly is later going to roll around?" Paul kept his eyes on the road and just glued a playful smile on his face. Fine two could play that game. I folded my arms across my chest and stared straight ahead, wearing a discontented grimace. I could feel the energy in the car shift quickly as Paul kept tossing anxious glances in my direction and forcing his old truck to pick up a little more speed at a time until finally we pulled into the drive way of his house.

"Is something wrong?" I could hear the uneasy undertones in his voice.

"No nothing." My reply was simple but I remained in the same posture as I was before. Paul scrutinized me for a couple seconds before he slowly got out of the car. I exited as well in the same fashion, remaining completely stony until I was inside. I took a seat on the couch and glanced at Paul evenly. Unfortunately that mischievous smirk had returned.

"So nothing's bothering you?" Paul asked as he moved closer very slowly.

"Nope nothing's wrong," I assured falsely.

"Really," Paul arched an eyebrow in disbelief. His next movements were a blur as he dove forward and suddenly began tickling me. My composure crumbled and I squirmed and squealed trying to break free. Paul booming laughter only added to the frenzied attack.

"STOP!" I demanded trying to put on a serious voice.

"Not till you tell me," he replied.

"PAUL!" my sides were beginning to ach from the laughter that was rocketing through my whole body.

"Come on," he was trying to bait me, well it was working.

"I love you! Please stop tickling me I'm going to…," but just as soon as it had began the tickling abruptly stopped. I hadn't even realized I'd said that until Paul stopped. I lay back on the couch trying to catch my breath as Paul hovered over me.

"So I guess now is later," his voice was just a whisper in my ear.

"And just so you know," his lips were inches from mine as my heart was sputtering out of control, "I love you too."

I smiled as he gave me a tender kiss. He moved back and stared into my eyes for a few seconds before speaking again.

"One last thing about werewolves," I remained silent forcing him to continue.

"Well it's called imprinting."

"Imprinting, what's that?" I murmured.

"It's when…it's something that happens," Paul broke off trying to think of a way to explain, "Ok imprinting occurs when a werewolf finds their soul mate. Like Sam and Emily, Quil and Claire, Jacob and Reneesme, Kim and Jared…"

"Paul and Maddie," I finished in the third person. All of my insides were going into overtime, except my brain. My mind was completely calm as it said _of course silly, no duh he's your soul mate._

I could see my face reflected in Paul's eyes. I was practically glowing with the overwhelming feelings of love and joy.

Paul swept me up into his arms and smothered me in kiss after kiss until we finally had to stop to catch our breath.

"Wait did you say Quil and Claire? And who the heck is Reneesme?"

_**Two weeks later**_

This last week had been the week from hell. So on top of finals, the three phases of the full moon was starting Saturday so the pack had been extra stressed. They had spent weeks planning out their method of attack. Paul was losing sleep and becoming more on edge with each passing day. Finally I had put my foot down and demanded a night of alone time with my boyfriend. Ever since Paul told me about the imprinting thing Emily, Kim, and I had grown even closer now that I was fully aware of everything. So I was able to get that night alone because I had Emily and Kim on my team. Paul had been more than happy to have one worry free evening with me. He was actually taking me out to dinner and a movie.

"What am I suppose to wear!" I groaned as I flung the last contents of my closet on my bed.

"Ok let me do this," Ali commanded as she made me step back. She began searching through each item of my closet.

"Did he say if it was casual, formal?" I shook my head and Ali sighed.

"Ok I got it!" Ali cried as she pulled out a little black sun dress with cap sleeves and a white high waist belt. As Ali held it up I simply scoffed.

"What?"

"Ali, in case you've forgotten it's the middle of winter."

"So, wear a coat. Besides you'll be inside and its well worth it."

"Really my legs getting frostbite is worth it?" Ali smirked as she tossed the dress into my lap. 20 minutes later Ali had finished with my hair and make-up and I surveyed myself in the mirror.

"See didn't I tell you, Paul is going to have a heart attack when he sees you." I laughed at her comment as I continued overlooking my outfit. I heard the doorbell ring; Ali rushed down the stairs to answer the door.

"Hey Paul!"

"Hi Ali is Maddie ready?"

"Of course she is, Oh Maddie!" Ali called in an exaggerated voice. I suppressed a smile as I exited my room and walked slowly down the stairs. Paul's face immediately took on a strange look and his eyes remained glued to my descending figure. Ali threw me a look before she swiftly snuck out the front door. Paul remained rooted to his spot.

"What?" I asked shyly as I finally reached the bottom of the steps.

"Nothing," Paul said shaking his head before he reached out and grasped my hand.

"You look beautiful, love" I could feel my face flush a little at his praise.

"you're not so bad yourself handsome, though I am surprised that you actually opted to wear a shirt," I teased as he helped me into my coat.

"Yeah well I'm pretty sure the restaurant we're going to has a strict "no shoes. No shirt. No service policy." I laughed as we stepped out onto the porch. The cold air immediately struck me and I tried desperately to suppress a shiver. Then I noticed the fresh coat of snow that covered the ground. I glanced apprehensively at the heels Ali had picked out for me.

As if he was reading my mind Paul suddenly swept me up into his arms bridal style and carried me to his car.

I laughed as he spun me around for dramatic effect, before placing me in the passenger seat. He lingered for a moment and gave me a soft kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

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**Thanks for being so patient I know it's been a while. Anyway the next chapter will have a major event in it. All I'm going to say is that someone isn't going to make it to the end of the story. Also I want everyone's opinions on the werewolves like what you think should be done about them. Even if you think your idea is stupid or whatever please share, it might actually turn out to be very helpful. Thanks again for reading!**


	17. Monsters

_WEREWOLF: n. A wolf that was once, or is sometimes, a man. All werewolves are of evil disposition, having assumed a bestial form to gratify a beastial appetite, but some, transformed by sorcery, are as humane and is consistent with an acquired taste for human flesh._

–_Ambrose Bierce_

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**Chapter 17: **_**Monsters**_

Blue and red flashing lights blurred into my vision.

I heard voices but I couldn't understand the words they said.

My stomach heaved.

My head ached.

There was too much blood.

_**The Day before…**_

"I'll drop it off later tonight," I spoke into my phone as I tried to shift all of my stuff that I held in my hand.

"Okay I'll see you then," Ali answered.

"Alright bye," my phone dropped from my hand and clattered to the ground.

"Damn!" I hissed before I tried to grab it.

"Let me take some of those," Paul appeared from inside the house and grabbed my large duffel bag from my shoulder.

"I love how handy you are," I teased as I retrieved my phone from the grass.

"And I love how you over pack, seriously what is in this thing," Paul held my duffel bag on his shoulder showing no sign of discomfort.

"I'm a girl, I have a lot of necessities," I shoved my phone into my purse before I noticed that Paul's face had suddenly become very serious as he lead me to Emily's door.

"What?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out tonight,"

"Come on it'll take two seconds, not even," I assured, completely confident in my speedy driving abilities. Paul's eyes filled with pleading and all my stubborn feelings left me. I pressed myself forward and leaned against Paul's chest.

"Fine I'll go by tomorrow," Paul smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"Thank you," he whispered before he opened the door and I followed him inside. Everyone was already there waiting.

"Ok everyone knows what their jobs are tonight?" Sam asked as I caught a glimpse of Emily's worried expression. My stomach tensed as my own suppressed anxiety resurfaced. Kim, sitting on Jared's lap, tried her best to give me a comforting smile. Paul pulled me closer to him and I could sense the tense energy radiating off of him as well as the rest of the pack. I felt especially bad for Jacob and Quil, whose imprints weren't able to be with them like Sam, Paul, and Jared could be with their imprints. Seth, Brady, Emby, Collin, and Leah were the only ones who didn't look unnerved in anyway.

"Alright, we'll leave in a few minutes," Sam said. However he followed Emily into one of the back rooms, while Jared and Kim disappeared out the front door.

Paul pulled be into a warm hug which made me even more uneasy.

"Be careful," I whispered unsure if I wanted him to hear or not.

"You too," I felt warm tears start rolling down my face.

"Hey, don't worry, we've faced a lot worse before trust me," he pulled me even closer. I scoffed in disbelief that he could be so lax about this situation.

Sam and Emily suddenly reappeared with Sam looking at Paul.

"Ready?"

"Almost," Paul answered. Sam nodded and Paul looked back down at me.

"Alright Superman, go fight the bad guys," I joked trying to hide my other emotions. Paul smiled and kissed me with intense passion and wanting. I felt slightly embarrassed that Sam and Emily were standing there watching.

"I love you,"

"I love you too," Paul placed another short kiss on my lips before he followed Sam out the front door. Kim entered a few seconds later and I could already tell that tonight was going to be one of the longest nights of my life.

It was around midnight when I finally crawled into the bed of Emily and Sam's guest room. Unfortunately my entire body was too wired to sleep. I whipped out my phone and texted Ali asking if she was awake. After a few more texts I decide that I was just going to go over there. I mean I love Emily and everything but I couldn't understand how she could be sleeping at a time like this. At least Ali's house could offer a sorely needed distraction. After I grabbed paper and a pen and quickly scribbled out a note, I tiptoed through the house and shut the front door noiselessly behind me. This whole waiting around thing was not doing me any good and technically I wasn't breaking my promise to Paul because I had never specified at what time tomorrow I would go to Ali's.

I shut my car door as quietly as possible before starting the car. I flinched as the monster roared to life, quickly shattering the first morning silence. I got on the road quickly and tried to drive as fast as possible. The darkness felt much more sinister when you were driving down a long lonely road. I actually found myself half expecting some crazy guy with a chainsaw to jump into the road.

Thankfully I made it to Ali's house without incident. The lights were on so I parked my car and hopped on out. As I approached an uneasy feeling crept over me. It felt like something was watching me. I walked faster until I was at the front door. I knocked and tried to keep the edgy emotion at bay. There was no answer. I knocked once more.

"Ali?" I glanced behind me at her front yard and then turned back. Maybe she was in her room listening to her iPod. I tried the door and it opened without protest.

"Ali?" my voice was shaking as I entered further into the house. I entered the living room where I found a sight that would continue to haunt my dreams for years to come.

* * *

My head rested in my hands as I tried to block out the voices of the police officers nearby. I heard noises behind me which I could only assume was the sound of someone putting up caution tape.

_Furniture lay overturned smeared with a sickly color of red as a body rested on the floor. The body that had been torn apart._

My throat was starting to close up as I struggled to push the scene from my mind. My eyes were burning from the tears I was holding back.

"Let him through!" I heard one officer call. I looked up from my resting place on the back of the ambulance to see Sam slipping under the yellow caution tape keeping out the gather crowd. He approached the officers and they began a hushed conversation. I stared at Sam trying to decide if he was angry or relieved. Sam said something to the officers before making his way over to me.

"Maddie?" his voice sounded distant even though he was standing right in front of me. I tried to answer but at that moment two men exited the house carrying a large black body bag.

I gasped and Sam quickly grabbed my shoulder.

"Maddie, we have to go," He didn't wait for my answer he just led me away from the scene over to my car. I wordlessly handed him the keys as I felt myself growing colder. As soon as we were driving Sam turned the heat up full blast even though it obviously wasn't at all comfortable for him.

"Maddie did you see anything?" his voice came from nowhere that I couldn't recall if he had even really spoken.

"Maddie!" I distantly felt the car come to a halt but I couldn't take in the location where we had stopped at. Suddenly I was moving again but I was being carried somewhere. The darkness of the nighttime quickly dissolved in a bright artificial light. Once again there was a swarm of frantic voices but I couldn't take anything in.

"Paul," I murmured his name, hoping that one of the voices belong to him.

"Don't worry Maddie, he'll be here soon." I felt myself being moved once again and placed on large soft bed. It was dark once again and the voices were much quieter now. I rolled over on my side and closed my eyes.

* * *

**Review Please!**


	18. Animal I Have Become

_Lions, wolves, and vultures don't live together in herds, droves or flocks. Of all animals of prey, man is the only sociable one. Every one of us preys upon his neighbor, and yet we herd together._

–_John Gay_

_**Chapter Recap: Maddie arrives at Emily's house to stay the night. The pack prepares for their night of tracking down the werewolf. The imprints say good bye; Maddie is of course more worried than the others having never experienced something like this. Later that night Maddie goes to Ali's house and finds her friend dead. Sam arrives at the scene and takes Maddie back where he leaves her waiting for Paul. **_

* * *

**Chapter 18: **_**Animal I Have Become**_

_**Paul's POV**_

Sam's thoughts disappeared as he phased back into human form. I turned my attention back to the hunt.

_Paul it's running in your direction, cut it off, I'm tailing it now. _

I took off running, catching the unfamiliar scent of the werewolf as it fled from Embry. I quickly caught up with Embry who had the thing on the edge of the cliff. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I took in the sight of the cornered beast.

_Looks like it's got nowhere to run. _

Saliva dripped from the wolf's long snout as it jaw hung partly open, showing it's dagger like incisors. It crouched on its hind legs and snarled menacing at us.

I heard another howl in the distance but it didn't belong to any member of the pack.

_Guys we're following the other one!_

Seth's voice rang in my head; the thing we had corneredabruptly grew silent and its body showed no signs of movement.

_What's it doing?_

I ignored Embry's question and tried to talk to Seth.

_Seth who else is with you?_

_Quil and Jared. Leah, Brady, and Collin, are chasing the other one that was making its way towards town. Jacob's heading towards you two. _

_I'll be there in a sec Paul._

Suddenly the thing in the corner sprang to life and launched itself into the air.

_Embry watch out!_

The warning came too late as the werewolf slammed into Embry, knocking him to the ground. I sprang forward and dug my nails into its back. The thing wailed in agony, taking another swipe at Embry with its paw before beginning a rapid motion in an attempt to fling me from its back.

Jacob's form flew from the trees and pummeled it to the ground just as it hurled me from its back. I hit the trunk of a tree and fell to the ground as a wave of sharp pain shoot through my back.

_Paul help me!_

I struggled to my feet but the pain grew in its intensity. The thing flung Jacob to the ground and pinned him there with its paws. Embry shot out and hooked his jaw into the things neck. Another scream of pain broke from the animal's mouth as it fell to its knees. Embry's distraction allowed Jacob time to escape. I growled in rage and pain as I rose to my feet and took a few cautious steps forward to where Jacob stood. Embry released its neck and retreated backwards, panting heavily.

_How does Sam expect not to kill these things! _

Embry's bite wasn't deep enough to mortally wound the thing but it did affect the animal's demeanor. It hunched over as if trying to stop the bleed in its neck but unable to do so. We had the thing surrounded once again so I took a moment and looked at my brothers. Jacob was favoring his right front leg and Embry had bloody claw marks running across his chest.

_Embry you're bleeding._

Embry appeared to scoff as he kept his eyes on the injured werewolf.

I heard in my head that the others had their targets surrounded as well except for Seth's.

_Seth what's going on?_

_The thing keeps slipping by. Paul...I think it might have attacked someone._

Images of Maddie lying at the feet of one of those beasts flashed through my mind. My body tensed and I trained my eyes back on the thing in the center of the three of us.

_How do you know, Seth?_

_The thing's covered in blood._

I grimaced as I saw of picture of the bloody werewolf flash through my mind.

_Paul, Maddie wouldn't leave Emily's, she knows better than that._

I nodded my head and tried to keep my thoughts focused on the task at hand.

_Paul, look!_

My head whipped around and found that the werewolf's face was inches from mine. Embry and Jacob crouched waiting to pounce. I saw the saliva dripping from its jaw and the blood that was beginning to dry on its neck. Its body smelled of decay while its black eyes bore into me.

_Paul watch out I'm going to get it from behind!_

_No wait it's not doing anything…yet._

Normally I'd be already to attack this thing and I would be the one during the urging but I was different now. The thing shuffled backwards to its original standing place and hunched over again. I met Embry's confused gazed with my own confusion.

I felt Sam rejoin the group and before I could prepare myself I saw everything that had just happened.

_Maddie was sitting in the back of an ambulance. Paramedics were carrying a black bag out of a house. Maddie looked so lost. _

One phrase came from Sam's mind after that.

_Ali's dead._

A loud vicious snarl ripped through the night; I felt something hard slam into me and then darkness.

* * *

_**Maddie's POV:**_

The room was filled with the early morning light. I blinked a few times until my vision cleared. I quickly became aware of someone lying next to me.

Paul's deep brown eyes meet my searching gaze as I flipped over. We stared at each for a few moments. I could tell he was angry, along with worried, relieved, etc.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Paul moved some hair from face and rested his hand on my cheek.

"Me too." Suddenly a strong wave of grief consumed me and I threw my body into Paul.

"Why did it have to be her!" I wailed into Paul's shirt as he lay silently rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"You didn't see what…what it did to her,"

"I got a pretty good idea,"

We didn't speak after that; mostly because I was too busy drowning in guilt and pain. Finally my tears began to run dry and all I could do was make tiny gasping sounds. Paul gripped me tight as if he were afraid I was going to fall apart if he let go, which honestly probably would have happened.

"It was my fault," I murmured.

"No." Paul's reply was filled with confidence and certainty.

"How do you know?" I felt a gnawing aching in my chest.

"These things have no plan, they just kill; it was a random attack." Paul's words did nothing to ease my pain. Without thinking, I spoke what was racing through my head.

"I should be dead right now, too."

Paul's arm shoot out and held me away from, gripping my arms tightly he spoke with such quiet anger in his voice,

"Don't you dare say that, don't even think it."

I stared at him in bewilderment.

"I can't stand thinking about that; I can't even imagine my life without you... if you had died…," Paul's body was shaking and he let go of me to gain control once again.

"I'm sorry love," I whispered. Paul was still shaking slightly; I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and laid me back down on the bed. I rested my head on his chest and grasped his hand tightly. As we lay there I could almost hear Paul's mind inventing the situation in which I was also dead. Every so often he would shutter or kiss my head as if to reassure himself that I was still there.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep for I opened my eyes once again and found my head resting on a pillow and Paul absent. The clock said it was just about 4:30.

Sliding off the bed I tip-toed across the room to the door where I heard muffled voices in the living room.

"Paul maybe you should stay here tonight."

"No."

"Paul your obviously upset and we can't take that risk, I mean you remember what happened last night, when you got distracted. That thing almost killed you."

"I don't care."

I crept slowly down the hall and hide out of sight against the wall. Only Jared who was sitting on the couch across from me noticed me but he let the conversation continue.

"Think about Maddie then, Paul she just lost her best friend, she won't survive if something happens to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me."

"Paul come on we know, you are going to lose control once you get one of those things cornered again."

I saw Paul wheel around and face Jacob who had just spoken.

"I can handle myself!"

Suddenly Leah made eye contact with me. She rolled her eyes and spoke up.

"Guys, she's standing right there." Everyone grew very quiet and I stepped into the room mentally cursing Leah.

Paul wouldn't meet my eyes and I knew exactly what he was planning on doing. He wanted the werewolves taken care of once and for all, but I knew the myths about werewolves and if they were true then Paul would be killing an innocent person and he would never be able to live with himself after that.

"Paul, stay here…with me."

Everyone's gaze shifted to Paul who stood there shaking his head.

"I can't do that."

Fear began bubbling inside me; _he can't go; if he goes he won't come back. _

"Paul I need you to stay with me." Paul finally looked at me and I could tell I wasn't going to win this battle. He stepped towards me and pulled me into a deep kiss; it was too filled with a sense of goodbye.

"Paul," he cut me off.

"I'm sorry." He let me go and went out the front door.

"Paul!" I rushed after him and he stopped in the middle of the yard. I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back to the house, even thought it was like trying to move an actual mountain. The sun was setting and I knew time was running out.

He sighed and turned around, resting his forehead against mine. Tears were streaming down my face by now. His warm hands cradle my head as he spoke.

"Do you trust me?"

"Paul don't go,"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then let me go, I promise you I'll come back."

I stood in defeated silence.

"I promise," Paul repeated himself. I sighed as my tears began falling more rapidly.

"Don't kill them." Paul's lips once again found mine for a brief moment everything was quiet, everything was peaceful. Then suddenly it was over and I stood there and watched last rays of sunlight disappear along with Paul.

I stood rooted to the spot as the rest of the pack raced after Paul, disappearing one by one into the forest.

* * *

**Ok so for further notice there are roughly two more chapters left in this story. So I was thinking about doing a semi-sequel to this except it would be set like a year after this one ends and it would be about Embry and the girl he imprints on, but of course Paul and Maddie would make guest appearances. So tell me what you think.**


	19. Beauty and the Beast

_Anything to keep the wolf at bay. _

–_Gregg Caudell_

* * *

_**Chapter Recap: The pack is out hunting the werewolves. Turns out there are three, and Jacob, Embry, and Paul have one cornered. Suddenly Sam returns and Paul sees the whole Ali situation. The cornered wolf takes advantage of his distraction and knocks him out, escaping in the process. Later Paul returns to Maddie who breaks down with grief over her dead friend. Maddie awakens later and hears Paul talking to the rest of the pack about going out hunting once again. Maddie begs him to stay but he refuses, she finally caves and Paul disappears into the woods just as the sun sets.**_

**Chapter 19: **_**Beauty and the Beast**_

_Megan O'Hare's Seattle Apartment: 5:00 pm, Sunset._

Megan stumbled into her apartment, arms filled with groceries, just as the phone blared its last ring.

"Hi you've reach Megan I'm not here right now so leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as possible."

Megan hurriedly relieved herself of the multiple bags as her best friend's voice floated over the answering machine.

"Hey Meg, how come you never answer this thing? Just kidding anyway a bunch of us are hitting Tula's later if you want to join us and I heard from a reliable source that Michael would be playing tonight. So this must be a sign from above."

The machine cut off with a noisy beep.

This obnoxious sound was greeted with a low menacing snarl coming from the hideous creature crouching on Megan's kitchen floor.

_**Maddie's POV:**_

I wonder if someone could actually create a hole in the floor by pacing too much. Kim seems to think so by the way she is looking at me.

I silently envied her composure, I doubt that she truly felt as calm as she looked but at least she could pretend. Emily remained in the kitchen cooking what appeared to be just about every recipe she knew.

A loud angry sigh erupted from my throat as I threw my hands up in defeat. Kim visibly jumped as the suffocating silence was shattered. I fell into the seat next to her and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"He's an idiot." Kim smirked.

"I think it's a Shapeshifter thing." I smiled slightly as my internal worry raged on.

"How can you sit there so clam?"

"Because he's always come back before."

I glanced out the window and fixed my gaze on the darkened woods.

"It doesn't help," I mumbled dejectedly.

"At some point in time my body just got tired of worrying all the time," Kim added. I stared at her for a moment. Kim stared back but she appeared to be thinking about something.

"Ok how about I try and distract you?" I gave her a disbelieving look.

"How?" Kim smiled a sly smile.

"I think Jared is going to propose." My jaw dropped and I struggled to compose myself, to gather my thoughts together.

Kim continued when she saw that I was unable to speak.

"Well last week I was in Port Angeles shopping for Jared's Christmas present. I was in a shop across the street when I saw Jared leaving the jewelry store." Kim's face glowed with happiness.

"But…but you're so young!" I voice was a small squeak.

"I don't care, I love Jared, he's my soul mate,"

"But…but…but,"

"Wait you have to promise not to say anything to Paul or Jared!" Kim's eyes blazed with determination.

I sighed and nodded my head.

"I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." Kim's smile widened and she sat their basking in her happiness. I rested my head against the back of the couch and closed my eyes.

_People gathered in a beautiful garden with the sun shining brightly down upon them. Paul stood in a gazebo dressed in an immaculate black tux watching me as I glided down the aisle strewn with rose petals as my long white gown flowed behind. I made my way up the steps and stood in front of Paul. _

"_Maddie."_

_I whirled around and found Ali stand beside me wearing a pale blue dress with small forget-me-nots woven into her hair. _

"_Ali?" My breath was caught in my throat. Tears were forming in my eyes. Ali smiled and rolled her eyes dramatically._

"_Always the one for the waterworks," I laughed as a few tears streamed down my face. _

"_Ali this isn't real," Ali's face grew mournful._

"_I know, but it's nice, don't you think?" I nodded weakly dropping my eyes. I gasped as blood began seeping through Ali's dress. _

"_Ali, you're bleeding," I reached out for my friend but she disappeared a long with the garden and everyone present. _

_I was standing in front of a little house as two young boys chased each around the yard. _

"_Mommy come play with us!" I looked at them and knew they were mine, Paul's and mine. I moved closer to them until a snarl broke through the air. It was coming from the grove of trees nearby._

"_Come on Mommy!" the tallest boy was calling to me as the other tugged on his shirt sleeve dragging him in the direction of the dangerous noise. I lunged for them to stop them._

"Maddie wake up," I heard Embry's voice and felt myself being lightly shaken.

"Dude I told you to let her sleep," I opened my eyes slowly and saw Quil and Embry leaning over me. I glanced back and forth between the two. My whole body jolted up and I grew increasingly agitated.

"What happened? Where's Paul?"

"Shhhh calm down he's fine," Quil placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as my breathing steadied.

"Where is he?"

"He asked us to come and get you," I got to my feet and fixed my cloths.

"Let's go," I grabbed my coat and hurriedly followed Quil and Embry out the door. The frigid winter air caused me to shudder as Quil and Embry walked casually with only jeans on.

Dawn was just breaking casting eerie streams of gold, purple, orange, and red across the sky. We walked deeper into the forest until I saw the rest of the pack milling around a clearing in the forest. I spotted Paul seconds before he saw me. I brushed past Quil and Embry and threw myself into his arms.

"We caught them."

_Shawn Dawson's Kennewick Home: 5:00pm, Sunset._

Empty liquor bottles lay strewn on the floor as Shawn lounged in an arm chair. He clutched a portrait with a silver frame in his left hand while he held a bottle of whiskey in his right hand. He took a vicious swig of whiskey and returned his eyes to the portrait mesmerized by the beautiful woman wearing a simple wedding gown with an immaculate smile plastered on her face.

Suddenly the frame dropped to the floor cracking slightly while the bottle of whiskey crashed to the ground sending shards of glass and alcohol across the floor. Falling to his knees Shawn clutches his gut as he twists in agony until the pain ends and Shawn Dawson is replaced with a deadly monster.

**Maddie's POV:**

I shied away from the cold December air, Paul rubbed my arm and I inhaled his intoxicating scent.

"By the way, don't ever pull a stunt like that ever again." Paul kissed my lips and eyelids.

"So what's going to happen to them?" I asked as I glanced behind me and examined the three humans huddling in blankets and loaned items of cloths. There were two men and one woman. I felt immense pity for them as I realized that they were cursed with something beyond anything they could grasp. We were far enough away where we couldn't hear the conversation going on but I could read the expressions on the confused strangers' faces.

"I don't know, Sam wants them to digest the news first, last time I checked though he was trying to figure out a way to maybe keep them caged up on nights that they would transform."

Caged, like an animal.

I turned my head away from the group.

"Paul,"

"Hmmmm," I struggled with my thoughts for a moment.

"Now don't tell Kim or Jared I told you this but… is Jared going to propose to Kim?" Paul tried to hide his smile but I was watching him like a hawk.

"Yes," I sat picturing the wedding from my dream for a long moment; perhaps longer than Paul liked.

"Do you have something against marriage?" I could hear the complete panic in his voice so I shot him a dark look.

"That's not it at all."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing I was just picturing…nothing forget," I mumbled trying to steer towards another subject.

"No what were you just picturing,"

"Well earlier I had a dream and Ali was in it but we were getting married," Paul thought for a moment before speaking.

"And when do you see that last part of your dream happening?" his question didn't shock me like I expected it to; instead my answer was easily thought of.

"Sometime in the near future."

A commotion from the group disrupted our peaceful moment and Paul jumped to his feet and pulled me up with him. We drew closer but Paul placed his arm in front of me in a protective stance. One of the humans was standing near the edge of the cliff and everyone else was seemingly holding their breath.

"Shawn please don't!" Sam was pleading with the man who was looking around wildly. It took a few moments before I realized Shawn intended to jump off the side of the cliff. He wanted to kill himself.

"WHY NOT? YOU JUST TOLD ME I'M SOME SORT OF KILLING MACHINE!"

"We didn't say that," Sam continued.

"It all fits, I know now it was my fault, she died because of me!"

"Who died?" Leah was inching closer to Shawn but she froze as he caught on to her plan.

"My wife, Jillian, there was a car accident, I was found unconscious on the side of the road that morning." A heartbreaking sob broke from the man's throat.

"OH GOD JILL I'M SO SORRY!"

"Please I'm sure she wouldn't want this, you can't blame yourself, this isn't your fault."

Shawn stood shaking his head but he grew silent for a long time before looking at Sam.

"I'm sorry."

Shawn disappeared over the side of the cliff and I covered my ears to block out the sound of a splash.

_Henry Hearst's Bellevue Condo: 5:00pm, Sunset._

Henry lay sprawled out on his bed massaging his temples. His head was throbbing and Henry futilely prayed that the aspirin would kick in soon. With each passing second his headache seemed to grow worse until he wanted to cry out with agony. Henry's back was beginning to itch and his right leg was twitching uncontrollably.

Feathers flew into the air and landed gracefully on the shredded bedding and cloths. A snarl demon with matted fur and point incisors slinked out of the unfamiliar building into the darkening night.

* * *

**Ok just to clarify Henry, Megan, and Shawn are the werewolves' human form. Just wanted to make sure I mentioned that in case that was unclear. Also the next chapter is the Epilogue and will also set up the storyline for the sequel involving Embry and his imprint. The story will be called…A Teenage Cruella De Vil. Can anyone guess why? Review!**


	20. What Ever Happened?

_For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack._

_–Rudyard Kipling_

* * *

**Chapter 20: **_**What Ever Happened?**_

_2 years later…_

I leaned on the back of Paul's truck and watched the sun set over the beach. Absentmindedly, I fiddled with the diamond engagement ring around my finger as Paul and I waited for the others. I hadn't seen everyone in a few weeks since classes for my sophomore year of college had just recently started up again.

"One of these days you are going to twirl that thing right off your finger," Paul smiled with a twinkle in his eye as I immediately stopped playing with the ring. I smacked him in the chest; Paul pretended it hurt just to humor me. He glanced over my shoulder and waved at an approaching couple.

"Hey guys!" Henry Hearst called out as he and Leah joined us. I immediately enveloped both in a giant hug.

After the whole Shawn incident Leah kept it a secret that she had imprinted on Henry. Once it was out though Henry instantly became part of the family. It was nice that Henry had someone who knew about the transformation he had to endure each month. I felt sorry for Megan who had to go at it alone and hopefully one day found someone who cared enough to help her through it. Since Leah and Henry got together I think everyone in the pack was grateful for the change that Henry brought about in Leah. Whereas once, Leah was distant and bitter, she was now friendly, happy; according to Sam she was back to how she used to be.

"Hey Henry didn't expect to see you here," Paul said as he tossed a questioning glance in Leah's direction.

"Relax Paul, his phasing cycle doesn't begin until tomorrow night," Leah answered as she grasped Henry's hand in a comforting manner. Even though Henry was a welcomed member of the group Paul always got a little on edge around the time Henry was suppose to start phasing; it was just his eternal nature to protect me.

Brady, Collin, and Seth suddenly appeared each carrying a large cooler.

"Thanks for leaving use with all the heavy stuff," Seth complained even though he exhibited no of struggle. Leah just rolled her eyes at her little brother.

"Hey Maddie did you miss us?" Brady teased.

"Of course, I missed you most of all," Paul gave a playful growl and the others just laughed.

"We'll go get the fire started," Collin interjected and the little group moved off to our area.

Other people were arriving and creating their own campfires, most, I assumed, were from the high school in Forks.

"Maddie!" I heard Kim calling my name. I spun around and saw her approaching followed by Jared, Sam, and Emily.

"Kim!" I hugged my friend tightly before embracing Emily as well.

"Who's watching Jeffery and Lucy?"

Embry's mother volunteered, she's become our resident nanny," Emily laughed as I caught Sam trying to check his phone without calling attention to his action.

"Chill Sam, I'm sure they haven't done nearly enough damage to warrant a call from Embry's mom," Paul joked.

"Yet," Jared added.

"Watch it you two or I'll double your patrolling duties," Sam threatened as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

We made our way over to the campfire where the others had a large bonfire already going. Brady and Collin were debating over what was the best way to roast a marshmallow, while Seth and Henry were planning yet another camping/fishing trip.

I snuggled into Paul's side as the sun continued to drop lower below the horizon. I took the time to look around at my second family. Leah and Henry huddled together, whispering and stealing quick kisses every so often. Jared had his arm wrapped around Kim and every so often he would touch he stomach gently and the two would share a loving look. Kim was only three months pregnant but Jared was already on high alert and was willing to answer any whim Kim experienced. Seth, Brady, and Collin all roughed about, acting with careless abandon while Emily and Sam reveled in their night free of parenting duties.

I glanced at Paul and flushed slightly when I caught him also looking at me.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too,"

He kissed my lips still sending butterflies through my stomach.

"Oh great!" Seth's comment drew everyone's attention.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked as we all looked in the direction that Seth was glaring.

"She's here," Seth continued as he shot daggers towards one of the three girls that were greeting some people from the earlier group.

"Who?" I tried to figure out which girl he was referring to; there was one brunette followed by two blondes.

"Georgina Phoenix!" Seth mumbled eliciting agonized moans from Brady and Collin.

"Which one is she?" I continued.

"The tall brunette who's walking around like she's the ruler of the world," Brady answered.

"Sorry we're late!" Embry's voice broke the group's concentration. He and Quil trudged over and sat down near Seth.

"Did we miss anything?" Quil asked before he shoved a marshmallow into his mouth.

"Seth was just telling us all about Georgina Phoenix," Jared informed the two with a mocking tone.

"Who's that?" Quil asked with his mouth full of marshmallows.

"The she-devil of Forks," Seth replied and he pointed to the brunette once again. I watched her and even though light was fading I could still make out enough to tell that she definitely walked with a superior air about her. The two blondes shadowed her every move while a boy with short brown hair and glasses carried drinks over to the Georgina girl looking eager for approval.

I glanced at Embry and noticed his face had developed the look of someone who had just been smacked in the face. His eyes followed Georgina like a hawk.

"Embry are you ok?" as I questioned Embry, Quil waved his hand in front of Embry's face.

Embry's expression reminded me of Paul's the first time we met.

"Guys I think Embry's just imprinted," Sam comment pulled Embry back to reality just as realization dawn on Seth.

"What? On Georgina Phoenix?! No, impossible." Seth pleadingly turned to Embry, "Dude please snap out of it, this girl is completely unlovable."

Embry shot Seth a deadly look before rising to his feet and walking off in the direction of the girl. Seth and Quil followed after him. Paul and I exchanged looks.

This should be interesting.

* * *

_Later that night…_

I was nodding off as Paul and I lay on my bed in my parents' house; they of course didn't know he was there.

"So what do you think about a summer wedding?" Paul's voice drew me out of my sleepy slumber.

"I think I like the sound of that," I replied. Paul ran his hand down the length of my right arm sending shivers coursing through my body.

"Cold?" Paul asked with a knowing smirk.

"Most definitely I think I need my superman to warm me up." I giggled as Paul drew me even closer to his warm body and planted kisses on my forehead, cheeks, nose, and finally lips.

I closed my eyes and inhaled Paul's soothing scent as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Life couldn't be better.

* * *

**So Embry is definitely in for a wild ride with his imprint. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read my story and also a special thanks to everyone who reviewed, your comments really help me get feedback and better understand where you want the story to go. The first chapter of the sequel should be posted in about two days. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story just as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**PS: let me know if you want the names of the bands/singers of certain songs used for chapter titles. **


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